Katy: three counties, two federal reservoirs
Water damage restoration in Katy starts with knowing where your home sits. The City of Katy spreads across parts of Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties, and the wider Katy area that people mean when they say "Katy" reaches east into Cinco Ranch, Grand Lakes and the neighborhoods that border the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.
Those two reservoirs are what make Katy different from the rest of greater Houston. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built them after the floods of 1929 and 1935, on open land in what was then far west Harris County and east Fort Bend County, to hold back rain that would otherwise rush down Buffalo Bayou into central Houston. Decades of growth filled in the land around them. Today, when a slow storm parks over the west side, the question for many Katy families is not only how much rain falls on their street but how high the reservoir pools climb.
Plenty of Katy water damage has nothing to do with the reservoirs. It is the everyday trouble of a large suburb: a supply line under a sink that lets go, a water heater in the garage or attic that leaks, an upstairs bathroom that overflows into the ceiling below, or a roof that lets wind-driven rain in during a summer storm. Water Damage Pro Houston does no restoration work itself; it is a phone number that costs you nothing. When you call, an automated assistant asks what happened and connects you with an independent, locally owned restoration company that takes Katy calls. That company does the inspection, the estimate and the work.
Water damage restoration Katy homeowners ask about most
These are the jobs that come up most in a suburb of newer two-story homes, older ranch homes near Old Town Katy, and neighborhoods close to the reservoirs. Each page explains what a careful company does first and what to ask before you sign.
Water Damage Restoration in Houston
The full job after a leak or flood: inspection, water removal, drying, cleaning and rebuilding, and how a restoration company works from the IICRC water categories.
Emergency Water Removal and Extraction
Standing water on the floor right now. What extraction equipment does, why speed matters in Houston humidity, and what to do safely before the company arrives.
Flood Damage Restoration
Rising water from a bayou, street or storm surge. Why floodwater is treated as contaminated, what gets removed, and how flood insurance differs from a homeowners policy.
Water Damage Repair
Putting the house back after it is dry: drywall, baseboards, flooring, cabinets and paint, and how repair estimates differ from drying estimates.
Mold Remediation in Houston
Mold after a leak or flood: containment, removal and clearance, the Texas licensing rules, and the protocol a licensed assessor writes first.
Mold Inspection and Mold Testing
Musty smells, hidden leaks and post-flood checks. What a licensed mold assessment consultant does, when air or surface samples help, and why the assessor and remediator are separate.
What Harvey taught Katy about the reservoirs
Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 pushed both reservoirs to record levels. The Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District documented what happened, and it explains why some Katy area homes flooded days after the rain had stopped.
- The pools rose. Water behind the Addicks and Barker dams began rising as soon as heavy rain fell over the upstream watersheds. The Corps says it was the first time in the dams' history that homes upstream flooded from reservoir water.
- Neighborhoods inside the pool took water. Fort Bend County warned that Barker Reservoir water could reach several thousand homes, naming Canyon Gate, Grand Lakes, Kelliwood and several sections of Cinco Ranch, in the area roughly south of Westheimer Road and east of the Grand Parkway. A later Corps study counts thousands of structures that flooded inside the pools.
- Releases flooded homes downstream. To protect the dams, the Corps released record amounts of water into Buffalo Bayou, far more than the channel carries without spilling into streets and homes. The Harris County Flood Control District warned that the releases raised the flooding threat along the bayou, and the Corps study counts thousands of downstream structures that took water.
- The water stayed for weeks. High releases went on for weeks, and the Corps did not report the reservoirs fully drained until October. Homes that sit in water that long need far more than a quick dry out.
If you live near either reservoir, look up your address on the Corps' Addicks and Barker potential flood maps, and follow the Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District for reservoir updates during a storm.
Permits after water damage in Katy
Who issues your permit depends on your address. Inside City of Katy limits, the city's Permit Office handles residential permits, with applications filed through the city's online portal. The city says construction may not begin until fees are paid and the permit is issued and posted at the job site.
After Harvey the city told residents that a flooded home or business needed a building permit so repairs would meet FEMA and National Flood Insurance Program rules, and it waived fees for flood related permits at that time. Its forms page still lists a Flood Damage Building Permit and a separate Floodplain Permit Application. Ask the Permit Office which one applies to your repair today; do not assume the 2017 fee waiver still stands.
Many homes that people call Katy, including much of Cinco Ranch, sit outside city limits. If that is you, ask Harris, Fort Bend or Waller County which office reviews repairs at your address before rebuilding starts.
Rebuilding in the floodplain. The City of Katy's survey rules set a minimum height for a home's finished floor, measured against the street, the curb and the base flood elevation. That matters most for new construction and major rebuilds, so ask the city whether it applies to yours.
Drainage in the City of Katy
The reservoirs are not the only flood story here. After Harvey the City of Katy hired engineers to assess the parts of town that flooded, presented findings on the Cane Island Branch to the City Council and held neighborhood workshops, including one for Pine Forest residents. The city has said the core flooding problem is regional and tied to the Cypress Creek watershed, and that it works with local, regional, state and federal agencies on it. In February 2026 the city started a West Katy Drainage Improvements Project with roadway work on Franz Road east of Cane Island Parkway.
Street level drainage matters too. The city reminds residents that leaves and cars parked over storm drains can block them, so water backs up into yards and, in a hard rain, into garages and homes. Keeping the drain in front of your house clear is one of the few flood steps a homeowner can take before a storm.
Water damage that has nothing to do with rain
In a two-story home, a leak from an upstairs bathroom, a laundry room or an attic water heater often shows up first as a stain on the ceiling below. In a home built on a slab foundation (a concrete pad poured on the ground, with water lines running under or through it), a slab leak can show up as a warm spot on the floor, a cracked tile or a water bill that jumps. In each case a plumber finds and stops the leak, and a restoration company measures how far the water spread with a moisture meter and dries the house. See the burst pipe water damage page for leaks inside walls and under slabs.
If your water bill comes from a municipal utility district (MUD) rather than the city, the district's operator is the one to call about a main break in the street. Leaks on your side of the meter are yours to fix.
Safety before anything else. If you smell gas, leave the house now and, once outside, call 911 and your gas utility's emergency line (CenterPoint Energy serves much of greater Houston). Never walk into standing water near outlets, cords or appliances; switch power off at the breaker only if you can reach the panel while standing on a dry floor, otherwise call your electric utility (CenterPoint Energy in much of greater Houston) or an electrician. Stay out of sewage water. If it is safe to reach, close the main water shutoff.
Why Katy homeowners call the line
Reservoir neighborhoods need the right questions
A home that sat in Barker or Addicks pool water, or in Buffalo Bayou release water, is dealing with floodwater, not a clean pipe leak. The connected company can explain how it handles that water, and this site explains what to ask about flood insurance first.
A call at 2 a.m. still gets answered
Upstairs leaks and failed water heaters do not wait for business hours. The line answers every hour of every day and transfers you to an independent local restoration company, or passes along your details for a call back.
Nothing to pay the line
Calling is free. The company you are connected with gives its own estimate, and you pay that company directly or through your insurer as you arrange. A restoration company may pay the line for the referral.
A mold license you can look up
People in Katy search for mold testing often. This site explains how Texas splits mold assessment and remediation between two licensed roles and how to look up a license on the TDLR search before anyone starts.
Mold after a Katy leak or flood
The EPA says wet materials dried within 24 to 48 hours usually will not grow mold, but that is a guideline, not a promise. Gulf Coast humidity slows drying, and a slow leak behind a shower or under a sink can run for weeks before anyone notices. If mold has already shown up, Texas rules apply. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses mold assessment and remediation, and on larger jobs the assessor and the remediator must be separate. The how fast mold grows guide explains the timeline.
Check the mold license first. In Texas, mold assessment and mold remediation are licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). In most cases visible mold under 25 contiguous square feet can be cleaned by people without a license; larger jobs generally call for a licensed mold assessment consultant to write the remediation protocol and a separate licensed mold remediation contractor to do the work. Ask for both license numbers and look them up on the TDLR license search (opens in a new tab). The line does not check licenses for you.
Insurance questions to ask before work starts
The Texas Department of Insurance says most homeowner policies cover sudden and accidental water damage, like a burst pipe, but not floods; flood coverage is a separate policy, and FEMA says National Flood Insurance Program policies usually take 30 days to start. For reservoir and bayou neighborhoods that gap matters. Call your agent before hurricane season, not during it. The homeowners insurance guide lists what to ask.
How a Katy call works
- Dial the numberAn automated assistant picks up (832) 662-4107 at any hour, holidays included.
- Say what happenedA burst pipe, a flood, a roof or appliance leak, a sewage backup or mold, whether water is still coming in, and where in greater Houston you are.
- Get connectedYour call is transferred to an independent, locally owned water damage restoration company, which hears a short summary first.
- Work with that companyIt inspects, quotes, does the work and bills you or your insurer as you arrange. If it misses the call, it gets your name, number, area and problem to call you back.
About this line: Water Damage Pro Houston is a free phone line, not a restoration company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local water damage restoration company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. The line never charges you. Read how the line works.