Water Damage Restoration in North Laurel, MD

Our water damage restoration, extraction & drying services in North Laurel, MD

Here is what we handle for homes and buildings in North Laurel, MD, on the Howard County side of the river.

River gauges: what the water has done

Little Patuxent at Savage, June 197225.425.40 ft

Patuxent near Laurel, June 197225.025.00 ft

Little Patuxent at Guilford, June 197218.3818.38 ft

Little Patuxent at Savage, Tropical Storm Lee, 201116.1516.15 ft

Little Patuxent at Guilford, Tropical Storm Lee, 201114.0614.06 ft

Which county's rules apply in North Laurel

Howard County's flood page says plainly that the county does not allow building in the floodplain. It names the Little Patuxent River, the Middle Patuxent River, Cattail Creek, Deep Run and Dorsey Run as sources of riverine flooding, and it points homeowners to the county's flood map viewer, FEMA's Map Service Center and the state's flood risk map. Preliminary updated FEMA flood maps have been issued for the county, so it is worth checking where your address falls now and again after the maps take effect.

A no-building rule keeps new construction out of the worst ground. It does not move an older house that was already there, and a house outside the mapped floodplain can still take in water from a clogged storm drain or a failed sump pump. Flood zone lookups tell you about river flooding. They do not tell you about a basement that seeps after a week of rain.

Who handles what in North Laurel

The problem	Who to call first	Where we fit
Water or sewer service at the street	Howard County Department of Public Works, Bureau of Utilities, which runs the county's public water and wastewater systems	We do not work on the public lines.
Sewage backing up into the house	A plumber to look at your own line, and the county if the blockage is in the main	We handle the cleanup once the water is stopped.
A burst pipe, appliance or water heater inside the house	Shut off the water yourself, then call us	Extraction and drying.
Flooding from a creek or heavy rain	Your insurance company, and the county flood page for maps	Water removal, cleaning and drying.

Sewer backups and the Little Patuxent plant

The county's Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant serves central Howard County, including Columbia, Savage and North Laurel. A backup that starts in the street main is a county matter. A backup that starts in your own line, from a clog or a root in your lateral, is yours. The cleanup is the same either way, and so is the category: sewage is Category 3, and carpet, pad and drywall that sat in it come out.

If your basement floor drain is bubbling or a toilet is gurgling when you run the washer, stop using water in the house and call a plumber. Do not try to mop it up. What the crew does, and what you can do while you wait, is on the sewage backup cleanup page.

A mill town on a river, and what it teaches

Savage Mill, just over the line in the neighboring community of Savage, began operating in 1822 and ran as a textile mill until 1947. It sits on the Little Patuxent River, and Howard County lists it on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bollman truss bridge that now carries pedestrians behind the mill was brought to Savage in 1860.

The lesson for a homeowner is an old one: rivers rise. Mills were built beside rivers for power, which put them in the way of every flood. If your home or business is close to a creek, you are in the same position, and the usual fix is drainage, not hope. Keep gutters clear, extend downspouts, and test the sump pump before a storm instead of during one.

Soil: what we can and cannot say

USDA descriptions of the Glenelg and Manor series, both first described in Howard County, say those soils form from weathered mica schist in the Piedmont and drain well. Water moves through them faster than it does through the clay-heavy soils of the Coastal Plain. That does not mean basements stay dry. A well-drained slope sends water downhill toward whatever is at the bottom, and that can be a foundation wall.

The series descriptions do not say which streets have which soil, so we do not claim to know what is under yours. The county and the USDA soil map can tell you. What we can say from experience with water is that houses on slopes get runoff from above, and houses at the bottom of a slope get it from every direction. Both cases are handled under basement flood cleanup.

What to do while you wait

• Shut off the water at the fixture, or at the main if you cannot reach the fixture.
• Stay away from the breaker panel if the floor around it is wet.
• Photograph the water, the source and any damaged belongings.
• If sewage is involved, keep people and pets out and call a plumber for the line.
• Write down the time you first noticed the water. Insurers ask.

Flood insurance and what a map does not tell you

A standard homeowners policy generally leaves out flood damage from rising water. Flood coverage is a separate policy, and it usually has a waiting period before it starts, so it does not help after the storm has already arrived. A house in a mapped flood zone with a federally backed mortgage is often required to carry it. A house outside the mapped zone can still buy it. Ask your insurance agent which water events your own policy covers: a burst pipe, a sump pump failure, a sewer backup and a creek overflowing are four different questions with four different answers.

Services most North Laurel calls involve

• Basement Flood Cleanup Seepage, sump failures and creek runoff.
• Storm & Flood Water Cleanup Heavy rain and rising water.
• Sewage Backup Cleanup Category 3 cleanup.
• Structural Drying & Dehumidification Large floors and wet framing.

Across the county line

• Maryland City Anne Arundel County, next to the Howard County line.
• South Laurel Prince George's County, on the other side of the Patuxent.