Webster: a small city on a big creek
Water damage restoration in Webster, TX, is shaped by Clear Creek, the stream that runs along the city's south side on its way to Clear Lake and Galveston Bay.
Webster is a compact Harris County city in the Clear Lake area, crossed by Interstate 45, NASA Parkway, Bay Area Boulevard, Egret Bay Boulevard and Texas Avenue. Much of the land is low and flat, and storm water moves toward Clear Creek through ditches, storm drains and outfalls. When the creek runs high, that water has nowhere quick to go.
The Clear Creek watershed is large. The Harris County Flood Control District says it reaches into Harris, Galveston, Brazoria and Fort Bend counties and touches 16 cities, from Pearland and Friendswood to League City, Pasadena and the Clear Lake communities, along with four drainage and flood control districts. Rain that falls far upstream can still raise the creek at Webster hours later.
Water damage services Webster residents ask about
Most Webster calls are not storm calls. They are a supply line under a kitchen sink, a water heater that let go in a garage closet, an upstairs washer hose that leaked through a ceiling, or a slab leak, meaning a broken pipe under the concrete foundation that shows up as warm or damp flooring. Storm calls come in bursts, when Clear Creek and its tributaries are high or a tropical system parks over the coast. These pages explain each kind of job and what a careful restoration company does.
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.
Burst Pipe Water Damage
A split supply line, a frozen pipe or a slab leak. Who stops the leak (a plumber), who dries the house (a restoration company) and what to photograph for the insurer.
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.
Harvey's top Harris County rain total was measured near Webster
In August 2017, the Harris County Flood Control District recorded its highest four day Harvey rain total, 47.4 inches, at the Clear Creek gauge at Interstate 45. Across the whole county, the district estimates about a trillion gallons fell in four days.
The creek's design storm
The district describes a 100 year storm in the Clear Creek watershed as 18 inches of rain in 24 hours and a 10 year storm as 9.3 inches. Harvey's four day total near Webster was more than double the 100 year figure.
Flat land and clay soil
The district says every Harris County watershed, Clear Creek included, is at risk because the county is flat, its clay soils do not soak up water well, and it gets severe tropical rain.
Projects reduce risk, not remove it
The district and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have a federal flood risk management project on Clear Creek. Projects like it lower the odds of a flood; they cannot rule one out.
Water damage in Webster: check your flood zone before you rebuild
The City of Webster's planning maps page has a flood section with flood zone and elevation certificate lookups, links to download FEMA flood map panels, a live flood gauge feed and storm surge and riverine flood models. The city also keeps elevation certificates on its map server. An elevation certificate records how high your lowest floor sits compared with the base flood elevation, the flood height the map uses for a property.
Flood maps change over time, and the city has posted older maps that compare past FEMA panels. Older maps are history, not the current rule, so confirm your property's zone on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center or with the city before you buy flood insurance or plan a rebuild.
Permits come next. The City of Webster's website links to its online permit submissions. If a restoration company's estimate includes rebuilding walls, replacing a water heater or electrical work, ask whether it pulls the Webster permits or expects you to, and get that in writing.
For the bigger picture of how storms, bayous and clay soil work across the region, read why Houston floods.
City contacts that are not a restoration company
A lot of storm night confusion is about who handles what. The city handles its pipes and drains; a restoration company handles water inside your house. These numbers come from City of Webster pages:
- Water or wastewater emergency after hours(281) 332-2426, for evenings, weekends and holidays, per the city's water and wastewater page.
- Clogged storm drain or street drainageThe city's Public Works department, which includes a stormwater and drainage division.
- Emergency alertsWebster Alerts, the city's sign up system, sends notices about floods, water emergencies, road closures and evacuation orders.
Safety before anything else. If you smell gas, leave the house now and call 911 and your gas company's emergency line from outside. 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 or an electrician. Stay out of floodwater and sewage. If it is safe to reach, close the main water shutoff.
Why Webster homeowners call the line
Creek floods and pipe leaks both happen
Webster sits on Clear Creek, but most calls are plumbing and appliance leaks. Describe either one and the call goes to a local restoration company that takes Webster calls.
Any hour, at no charge
The line answers 24/7 and costs nothing. If the company cannot pick up, it gets your name, number, area and problem to call you back.
Rising water needs its own policy
The Texas Department of Insurance says homeowner policies do not cover floods. The site explains what to ask your insurer; the line never handles claims.
Mold checks before you hire
Humid Clear Lake air slows drying. This site explains the Texas mold license rules and how to look up a license on TDLR before mold work starts.
After the water: mold and the first two days
The EPA says wet materials dried within 24 to 48 hours of a leak usually will not grow mold; it is a guideline, not a promise. Take photos and video before anything is moved, move valuables to a dry room, and report the damage to your insurer. The first 48 hours guide lays out each step, and how fast mold grows explains the timing.
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.
How a Webster 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.
The company you are connected with may not have an office in Webster. It is a local company that takes calls for the Clear Lake area, and its schedule and prices are its own. Before you sign, read how to check a water damage company.
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.