Texas water damage: what to do right now

A statewide guide for any Texas home water emergency — make the area safe, stop the source, document for insurance, and understand your Texas claim rights. For county-specific utilities and claim history, find your county's guide (44 of 254 Texas counties currently meet our data threshold for a full local guide).

Leave and call for emergency help first if any of these:

Ceiling sagging or bulging, or any structural movement — get out from under it; leave if it is spreading.
Gas odor — leave now and call your gas utility from outside.
Sparking, energized water, or a wet breaker panel — do not touch it; call the electric utility or emergency services. Switch power off only from a dry location, never while standing in water; if you can't do that safely, leave it on and call an electrician or emergency services.
Large-scale sewage flooding — keep everyone away from the water; call emergency services for any immediate medical or life-safety risk, otherwise isolate the area and treat it as contaminated.

None of these? Continue below.

Safety information only: Conditions vary. This guidance is not a substitute for instructions from 911, utilities, public-health officials, licensed professionals, your insurer, or your policy. If anyone may be in danger, leave the area and call 911. Do not take any step you cannot perform safely.

What's the source? The right help depends on it.

Pick the closest match. If you can't tell, describe what you see when you call and a professional can triage by phone.

County pages link here for the full steps by source, so the detailed guidance lives in one authoritative place.

Burst pipe or appliance

Use your home's private cutoff if you can reach it safely. For a supply or meter emergency, call your water utility's emergency number — it's printed on your water bill; don't pry open the meter box yourself. Right help: a plumber to stop the source, plus water removal if flooding is significant.

Roof or ceiling leak

Don't get on the roof, especially wet, at night, or during weather. Move belongings out from under the drip line and catch water in containers, and if the ceiling bulges don't stand under it. Right help: emergency roof covering (a tarp) first, then water cleanup inside.

Sewer or drain backup

Stop using every fixture — do not flush toilets or run sinks, tubs, showers, dishwashers, or washing machines. Each one pushes more sewage back inside.
Keep people and pets out of the affected area. Sewage carries bacteria, viruses, and parasites; keep children and anyone with a weakened immune system well clear.
If you must enter, wear rubber boots, waterproof gloves, and eye protection, avoid skin contact and splashing, and wash thoroughly afterward. Do not eat, drink, or smoke in the area.
If neighbors have backups too, the cause may be a public main — report it to your utility.

Sewage cleanup is not a DIY job. Right help: a plumber, possibly the utility, and specialized cleanup. Flood-water and cleanup safety: CDC, reentering a flooded home; EPA, flooded homes.

Water coming from outside

Don't walk or drive through moving water — six inches can knock you down and a foot can float a car. Switch power off only if you can reach the panel from a dry location — never while standing in water; otherwise leave it on and call an electrician or emergency services.

Treat outdoor floodwater as contaminated. Clean water from a supply line is the least hazardous; gray water from a dishwasher or washing machine carries some contamination; sewage and outdoor floodwater can carry sewage, chemicals, and debris — avoid contact, keep it off your skin, and don't track it through the house.

Carbon-monoxide warning: never run a generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline engine indoors, in a garage, or near open windows — CO poisoning is a leading cause of death after floods. Keep engines outside, far from doors and vents. Have a professional inspect any flooded furnace, water heater, or HVAC system before you switch it back on. Post-flood safety: CDC.

Coverage note: rising surface water is generally a flood-insurance matter, but rain entering through a storm-created opening may be a homeowners claim — report the cause precisely.

From another unit or upstairs

Notify your landlord, property manager, or HOA now, and document everything. Renters: the property policy generally addresses the building; your renters policy may cover belongings and temporary housing after a covered loss. Condo: the master-policy vs unit-policy split matters — call your association.

I can't tell

Shut the private cutoff if it's safe to reach — if the flow slows or stops, that points to a pressurized supply leak. Describe what you see when you call and a professional can triage by phone.

Document for insurance — about 60 seconds

Do not delay stopping water or emergency work to take photos. While help is on the way:

One narrated video walking the affected rooms.
A wide shot of each room with the door frame visible.
The water line — mark it with tape and photograph it.
Serial and model plates of damaged appliances.
The source: the burst pipe, stained ceiling, or backed-up drain.

Photograph items before disposal; keep samples, labels, and receipts when safe. Ask the insurer before discarding high-value items — but do not keep contaminated or hazardous material indoors just for an inspection.

Drying and mold

The EPA recommends drying wet materials within 24–48 hours to reduce the chance of mold growth. Drying equipment commonly runs for several days; removal should follow documented moisture readings, not a calendar. EPA, mold cleanup; EPA, flooded home.

Older homes — lead paint (homes built before 1978):

Normal rule. When a paid firm disturbs more than the rule's minor-repair thresholds of painted surface in pre-1978 housing, the federal RRP Rule generally requires an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm and trained or certified personnel unless an exemption applies or an authorized determination shows the affected components are lead-free.
Emergency exception (narrow). Unplanned work immediately necessary because a sudden event presents a safety or public-health hazard or threatens significant property damage may omit pre-renovation education and, only to the extent necessary to address the emergency, warning-sign, containment, waste-handling, training, and certification requirements. Required cleaning, cleaning verification, and specified recordkeeping still apply; once the urgent condition is addressed, the ordinary RRP requirements resume. EPA, post-disaster renovations and lead-based paint.

Asbestos: suspect materials may be present in older buildings, including some built after 1975. Before cutting, sanding, or removing insulation, surfacing, flooring, mastic, or other suspect material, stop and have a qualified asbestos professional determine what testing and controls apply. Texas and federal survey, licensing, and notification rules vary by building and project type; a single private residence is treated differently from a public building or regulated facility (Texas DSHS asbestos FAQ).

Texas mold work — is a licensed remediator or a TDLR notification required? It depends on the affected area, who does the work, and building type:

Less than 25 contiguous square feet: in most instances an unlicensed person may assess or remediate the area without a TDLR notification. If a licensed remediator is hired, the licensing rules still apply, although notification is not required solely because of that small area.
25 contiguous square feet or more: unless an exemption applies, regulated assessment and remediation must use appropriately licensed persons, and the remediation project must be notified to TDLR.
Independence and exemptions: the licensed assessor and remediator generally must be independent. Owner, residential-property, homebuilder, and other exemptions are fact-specific; ownership, number of dwelling units, who performs the work, and project type matter.

See TDLR's mold notification rules and mold FAQ; verify licenses at tdlr.texas.gov.

Insurance basics and Texas timing

Owner: promptly notify the insurer or insurers that may cover the loss. Most homeowners policies do not cover flood, while a separate flood policy may; coverage for rain entering after storm damage depends on the policy and facts. Renter: notify the landlord and your renters insurer. Condo: notify the association and your unit insurer. Tell the agent whether you are asking a policy question or giving notice of a claim. See the TDI Home Insurance Guide.

General information only: Countyguard does not represent you, interpret your policy, prepare, file, negotiate, or adjust a claim, advise what an insurer owes, or communicate with an insurer for you. Countyguard is not a public insurance adjuster or law firm. This material is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney. For advice about your claim, contact your insurer, a Texas-licensed public insurance adjuster, or a Texas-licensed attorney. A contractor that provides or may provide contracting services on the property may not act or advertise as a public insurance adjuster for that property.

What to get from the insurer + Texas deadlines

Get: claim number (if filing), emergency-mitigation coverage limit and rules, coverage for temporary housing if rooms are unusable, the adjuster timeline, and the documentation they want.

Texas timing for many first-party claims: No later than the 15th day after receiving notice of a claim, an insurer generally must acknowledge the claim, begin investigating, and request reasonably needed items. After receiving all reasonably requested items, statements, and forms, it generally must accept or reject the claim in writing within 15 business days. If it cannot do so within that period, it must notify you and explain why; it then generally must accept or reject by the 45th day after that notice. If it accepts, it generally must pay within 5 business days after notifying you, or after you perform any act on which payment is conditioned. Different periods and statutes can apply, including for eligible surplus-lines insurers, suspected-arson claims, TDI-declared weather catastrophes, TWIA, and other claim or policy types. Check your policy and current TDI guidance; these rules do not decide whether a loss is covered. Sources: Tex. Ins. Code §§ 542.055–.059; TDI claim-deadline guidance.

CLUE note: TDI says policy or deductible questions should not be reported as filed claims. Be explicit about which one you're doing.

Approving work and contracts

The authorization you sign is a binding contract. Read it before work starts, not later.

Get, photograph, and understand: scope, unit rates, equipment charges, demolition limits, payment responsibility, and cancellation terms.
Do not sign an assignment of benefits, power of attorney, direction-to-pay, or any blank or partially blank contract until you understand exactly which rights or proceeds it transfers.
Ask whether the company is an IICRC Certified Firm and whether the on-site lead holds current water-restoration credentials — verify at iicrc.org rather than taking the yes.
"We'll cover your deductible" is illegal in Texas — walk away. (TDI)

Find your county water utility

For a supply or meter emergency, your utility's number — printed on your water bill — is the fastest help. Below are the largest registered community water systems by county (EPA SDWIS). This is not a verified emergency-contact directory; always confirm the number on your bill.

Your Texas county

County guides with local data

These counties have enough local flood-claim and disaster history for a full guide with county-specific data:

Official Texas resources

Your water utility's emergency line — printed on your water bill; for supply and meter emergencies that number beats any directory.
County emergency management — each Texas county must maintain or participate in an emergency-management program; use the TDEM regional directory for state field contacts and verify the appropriate local contact.
Texas Department of Insurance — claim handling, deadlines, and complaints: tdi.texas.gov.