One-story home on a wide lot beside a wet road and a line of power poles

Water Damage Restoration in Princeton, Texas

Princeton, Texas, east of McKinney on US 380. If a pipe breaks, a water heater floods the garage or creek water gets inside, one free call at any hour connects you with an independent restoration company.

Call (469) 649-7066 Princeton contacts

What February 2021 taught Princeton

During the February 2021 winter storm, The Dallas Morning News reported that Princeton issued a boil water notice: the system did not have enough supply, or the power to run its pumps. The notice was lifted later that week.

Across North Texas that week, DFW Airport stayed at or below freezing for 139 hours and dropped to minus 2 degrees, and pipes split in attics and outside walls. When pressure came back, a lot of homeowners found the damage all at once: a ceiling giving way, water running down inside a wall, a garage floor covered in water from a split line.

That is the main lesson for water damage restoration in Princeton. Know where your main shutoff is before the next hard freeze, and know who to call when the water starts.

Bright kitchen with the sink cabinet doors open and towels on the tile floor after a leak

A town that more than doubled

The city's demographics page lists 3,477 residents in 2000, 6,822 in 2010 and 17,027 in 2020. Census Bureau estimates released in 2025 named Princeton the fastest growing city in the country. Growth came so fast that in September 2024 the City Council voted to pause new residential permits for a time, citing water, wastewater and roads at or beyond capacity; that pause has since expired.

So most Princeton houses are recent builds on slabs over Collin County's shrink-swell clay. When they leak, it is usually at a fitting, an appliance, a water heater in the garage, an upstairs bathroom or an AC drain line, or under the slab as the soil moves through wet and dry spells. A plumber stops and repairs the leak. A restoration company finds how far the water spread, dries it and removes what cannot be saved.

Water Extraction and Emergency Water Removal

Standing water from a supply line, water heater or storm: what extraction equipment does, carpet and pad decisions, and why drying has to follow.

Flood Damage Restoration

Rising water from creeks, streets and the Trinity is Category 3. What flood cleanup involves, how to read a FEMA flood map, and why a home policy is not a flood policy.

Water Damage Repair

Putting a house back together after the drying is done: drywall, floors, cabinets and paint, who does each part, permits in Dallas and the paperwork your insurer will want.

Princeton water, power and inspection contacts

City water problems after hours: 972-736-2711. The Water Division has someone on call around the clock and dispatches them from that line.
Public Works by day: 255 E. Monte Carlo Blvd.; City Hall is 972-734-2416.
Electricity: Oncor or Texas-New Mexico Power, depending on your address.
Gas: the company named on your gas bill. A gas odor means get out of the house, then phone 911 and that company.
Permits and inspections: development services, 972-736-2416, option 4.
Water supply: Princeton is one of the original member cities of the North Texas Municipal Water District.

Lake Lavon, Sister Grove Creek and rising water

Princeton sits near Lake Lavon, an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir built for water supply, flood control and recreation. The Princeton Herald reported that on June 14, 2021, the lake stood at 500.39 feet, 8.39 feet above its normal level of 492 feet. Sister Grove Creek runs through the area too, and the US Geological Survey keeps a gauge on it at FM 1377 near Princeton.

The IICRC S500 standard puts lake, creek and street water in Category 3, its most contaminated grade. Treat it as if it carries sewage, keep children and pets away from it, and expect the company to replace soaked carpet, pad and lower drywall rather than dry them. A standard homeowners policy does not cover this kind of flooding.

Homes on a grassy rise above a lake shore under a clear sky

Safety first. Shut off the main water valve if you can get to it without risk. Water and electricity together are the real hazard, so stay out of any puddle that touches an outlet, a cord or an appliance. Switch off the breaker only when the panel can be reached from dry flooring; if it cannot, call Oncor or Texas-New Mexico Power (whichever is on your bill) or an electrician. A gas smell means everyone goes outside, and the calls to 911 and the gas company on your bill are made from there. Floodwater and sewage are not safe to wade through, for adults, children or pets. Once everyone is safe, take photos for the insurance claim and carry valuables and documents to a dry room.

Permits in Princeton: do not close the walls too soon

Princeton's Building Inspection Division issues permits for additions and remodeling and enforces the building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas codes. Foundation repair needs a Foundation Permit with stamped engineered plans, and replacing windows or doors needs a Remodel Permit. The rule that matters most after water damage: permitted work has to stay exposed until it is inspected and approved.

Ask before demolition which repairs will need a Princeton permit and who will pull it.
Keep moisture readings from the first day and the last, so you can show the walls were dry before they were closed.
Do not let new drywall go up over permitted plumbing or wiring until the inspection is done.
If mold appears, ask how big the area is. Texas rules generally call for licensed professionals at 25 contiguous square feet or more; look the names up on the TDLR license search.

Room with the drywall cut away in a straight line about two feet up, showing the studs

How a Princeton call works

Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line for Dallas-Fort Worth. It does not dry, clean or repair anything. It answers, finds out what you are dealing with and connects you.

Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (469) 649-7066 at any hour and asks what you need help with. The same number answers other home service calls too, so start with "water damage" or "mold".
Describe what happenedA burst pipe, standing water, a wet ceiling, a slab leak, a sewage backup or mold, plus your town and whether water is still coming in.
Get transferredWater damage calls go to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company; mold removal calls go to an independent mold remediation company. Each hears a short summary before it picks up. Mold testing calls are taken as a message for now.
Deal with that company directlyIt inspects, quotes and does the work, and you pay it (or your insurer does, as you arrange). If it cannot answer, it gets your name, number, city and problem so it can call you back.

Say Princeton, Texas, then what is leaking and whether it has stopped. The company you are put through to visits the house, and any price comes from that company in its own estimate.

Call (469) 649-7066

About this line: Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line, not a restoration or mold company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. Calling the line costs you nothing. See how a call is handled.

More pages that may help

Other DFW towns the line covers

Princeton water damage questions

Who fixes a water leak at the street in Princeton after hours?

The City of Princeton Water Division keeps an employee on call 24 hours a day, every day of the year. After business hours, call the city's non-emergency line, 972-736-2711, and on-call water staff are dispatched. Leaks on your side of the meter belong to you and a plumber. When water has reached floors or walls, call the line about water extraction.

Does Princeton need to inspect repairs before the walls are closed?

For work that needs a permit, yes. Princeton's Building Inspection Division says permitted work must stay exposed and accessible until it is inspected and approved. Plumbing and electrical repairs inside opened walls can fall under that rule. Ask the company or plumber which permits they will pull, or call the city's development services line, 972-736-2416, option 4. See water damage repair.

Will homeowners insurance cover water from Lake Lavon or a creek?

Not under a standard homeowners policy. Water that rises from a lake, creek or street is flood, and flood needs a separate policy, for example through the National Flood Insurance Program, which generally has a 30 day wait before coverage starts. A burst pipe is a different kind of claim. Read the insurance guide and ask your insurer what your policy says.

Is Princeton on Oncor?

Most of it is, but not all. Rate comparison listings show both Oncor and Texas-New Mexico Power delivering electricity to Princeton addresses. Your bill names the one that serves you. If water is near outlets or the panel and you cannot reach the breakers from a dry floor, call that utility or an electrician before you go in. The first 48 hours guide lists other safe steps.

Princeton home taking on water? Call the free line

Say what happened and which town you are in. The automated assistant passes a water damage call to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company, and a mold removal call to an independent mold remediation company. That company comes out, sees the damage and prices the work itself.

Call (469) 649-7066

Answers day or nightPipes burst at 3 a.m. and storms roll in after dark. The assistant picks up at any hour, every day of the year.
Free to callThe line never bills you. Any price comes from the company you are connected with, and you can ask for it in writing.
Mold testing is separateTexas keeps the mold assessor and the remediator on one job apart, so testing calls are taken as a message.
You decideHear what the company found, read its estimate, ask your insurer your questions, and say yes only when it makes sense.