Water Damage Restoration in Pasadena, TX

Which Pasadena addresses do you take requests from?

Requests come in from Pasadena (77502, 77503, 77504, 77505, 77506 and 77507), Deer Park (77536), South Houston (77587) and Galena Park (77547). Pasadena also has PO box ZIPs, which are not street addresses. A restoration provider confirms whether they can reach your address when they call, because providers differ on where they travel.

These four cities share one landmark: the Houston Ship Channel. Pasadena lies along its south bank, Galena Park sits across it, and Deer Park and South Houston grew up around the refineries and plants the channel drew. The housing, the flood risk and the repair questions all follow from that.

Does Pasadena flood?

It can. Wikipedia describes the Houston area as a very flat flood plain with clay-based soils that drain poorly, and Pasadena sits in the middle of it. The city is bordered by the Houston Ship Channel to the north, and its southeast corner fronts Galveston Bay.

Wikipedia's Deer Park article says Tropical Storm Allison dropped 15 to 30 inches of rain across the area in June 2001, and Hurricane Harvey dropped 30 to 50 inches in August 2017. The National Hurricane Center recorded 36 to 48 inches in the Houston metro area. Wikipedia's Pasadena article also lists Vince's Bayou inside the city, and the Harris County Flood Control District names both Vince and Sims bayous among the county's bayous.

Water that rises from a bayou or the street is flood water. The IICRC S500 standard classes rising river water as Category 3, so do not treat it like a plumbing leak. See flood cleanup and the flood zone map guide for your address.

How did the Houston Ship Channel shape these neighborhoods?

The channel pulled industry inland, and housing followed the jobs. Wikipedia says refinery operations appeared in Pasadena by 1917 to 1920, and by the mid-20th century the city's economy was strongly tied to petroleum and heavy industry. Shell broke ground on a Deer Park refinery in 1928.

Galena Park is the clearest case. It began as a farming settlement, became a railroad center along the new Port of Houston in the 1880s, and turned into a refinery center in the early 1900s. It is named for the Galena Signal Oil Company, which built the first refinery there. Wikipedia places it north of the channel and east of the 610 Loop, among freeways, freight rail and heavy industry.

South Houston was founded in 1907 as Dumont, and Wikipedia says the Ship Channel brought manufacturing inland there. The practical point for a wet house is that so much of this land is flat and built up that rain has few places to go. A drain that backs up can bring sewage into the lowest part of a slab house, which is a Category 3 loss. Read sewage backup cleanup before you touch it.

What kind of homes do Pasadena and Deer Park have?

Many were built during the refinery-era growth of the mid-20th century. Deer Park went from 700 people in 1948 to 5,000 in 1960 and 12,773 in 1970, per Wikipedia. South Houston grew fast from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Those curves point to a lot of postwar housing, though they do not say how old any one house is.

Houses from that era may still have original supply lines, drain lines or a patched water heater. Most Houston-area houses sit on slabs, so a leak can run under the floor before you see it. Look for a warm spot on the floor, the sound of running water, or a bill that jumps. The slab leak page explains how to confirm one.

1. Turn every fixture off and look at the water meter. If it moves, water is leaking somewhere.
2. Check the water heater, the washer hoses and the toilet supply lines.
3. Look at the ceilings for brown stains, especially below the attic.
4. Photograph anything you find before you move or dry it.

How do Pasadena, Deer Park, South Houston and Galena Park compare?

They differ in size, age and how the 2020 Census counted their housing. The table below uses only Wikipedia's figures for each city. It is a rough guide to size and housing counts, not a measure of your own street, so check your own address.

Why did old hurricanes matter to Pasadena?

Pasadena's own history is a record of storms. Wikipedia says the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston heavily damaged Pasadena too, and that the Red Cross helped the community recover. South Houston's article says the hurricane of 1915 destroyed many of the local industries.

Those are old events, but the pattern has not changed. The Harris County Flood Control District says a major flood occurs somewhere in Harris County about every two years, and the HCFCD itself was created by the Texas Legislature in 1937 after the floods of 1929 and 1935. If your house has water stains from an earlier storm, mention them to your insurer and any provider. Our hurricane water damage guide covers the aftermath.

What did the 2023 tornado mean for roofs and apartments?

On January 24, 2023, an EF3 tornado struck northwestern Pasadena, according to Wikipedia. Multiple neighborhoods and apartment complexes were severely damaged, and the storm went on to affect Deer Park and Baytown. An earlier EF2 tornado in October 2015 hit a warehouse and then damaged about 30 homes in La Porte.

A torn roof lets in rain for days. If yours was damaged, ask a roofer for a temporary cover, then photograph the damage before repairs. Tenants in a damaged complex should report leaks to the landlord in writing. For the water side of it, see roof leak and storm damage and apartment and condo water damage.

Will insurance pay for flooding, a sewer backup or a leak?

It depends on where the water came from. The Insurance Information Institute says flood damage is excluded under standard homeowners and renters policies and needs a separate flood policy. Sewer backup is not covered by a typical homeowners or flood policy either, and it is bought as a separate endorsement or product.

A sudden leak from plumbing or an appliance is a different matter. The NAIC says water damage from a home's plumbing or a roof leak is typically covered, while ground water and rain runoff are not. The Texas Department of Insurance says a company has 15 business days to acknowledge your claim. Call your agent before you sign a work order, and read our insurance claims guide.

What should I do in the first 24 to 48 hours?

Stop the source, make the house safe, and start drying. The EPA says to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, so the early hours matter more than the later ones.

1. Shut off the main water valve, and the power to wet areas if you can do it safely.
2. Photograph and video everything before you move it.
3. Call your insurer and ask what they need before work starts.
4. Call a restoration provider and ask what they will measure and how they will document drying.
5. Keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50, as the EPA recommends.

The emergency page has a longer checklist. Nearby pages cover Clear Lake and Webster, Baytown and Channelview, Houston Heights and Bellaire and Meyerland.

Sources: Wikipedia, Pasadena, Texas; Deer Park, Texas; South Houston, Texas; Galena Park, Texas; Hurricane Harvey; NHC, Hurricane Harvey report; HCFCD, watersheds; HCFCD, about the district; HCFCD, flooding history; IICRC S500; EPA, mold and moisture; Triple-I; NAIC; TDI, getting your claim paid.