Clearing storm-tide water left by a bay surge, judging its category on site and removing the porous materials it has reached.
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Bay surge water is the salt, silt and debris a rising tide leaves inside a building after it has crossed land. Tampa sits on Hillsborough Bay and Tampa Bay, and the Pinellas areas face the same water across the bay. The cleanup starts with the water category, because surge water that has moved across ground is handled more strictly than rain. Calls are answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
A surge is a different kind of water loss. Rain comes down on a building and runs off or into it. Surge comes up from the ground and the bay, carries whatever it passed over, and leaves a line on the walls that shows how high it rose. In Tampa, where the land is low along the water, that line can sit well above the floor, and it can reach rooms that never took a drop of rain.
The first question on a surge call is not how much water is inside. It is what the water has been through. Water that has come across open ground, a marsh edge, a flooded road or a yard carries soil, organic matter and whatever a flood moved, and it is judged as a more serious category than clean water from a supply pipe. That judgement decides the protective gear, the drying equipment and the materials that are removed rather than dried.
Storm surge also tends to hit everything at once. A surge that reaches one block usually reaches the sheds, the garages, the ground floors and the cars parked on the low side of a street. The cleanup therefore has to cover more than the room that flooded first, and the record of each room is worth keeping as it is made.
Do not enter a surge-flooded building until the power has been checked by a licensed electrician. Salt and silt can hide sharp debris, broken glass and slippery surfaces, so wear closed shoes and gloves. Surge water may carry bacteria and other contaminants, so wash hands before eating and keep food and open drinks out of the wet rooms. Keep children and pets away from silt and standing water. This page describes the water work and does not cover structural or electrical repair.
Wet outlets, panels and wiring from a surge are the first hazard. Power to the affected rooms is turned off at the panel where it can be done safely, and the electrical side is not switched on again until a licensed electrician has checked it. Water that has carried salt is also hard on metal, so the check matters more after a surge than after rain.
The crew records where the surge came from, how far it moved and what it touched on the way in. That record sets the category, which in turn sets the protective gear, the equipment and whether a material is cleaned, dried or removed. The judgement is made on site and written down, because it controls what is thrown away.
Pumps and extraction vacuums take out the standing water. Silt and sand are then removed by hand or with dry extraction where the surface allows, because silt left in a corner keeps holding moisture and smell long after the water has gone. Surfaces are cleaned with a product suited to the material.
Carpet pad, insulation, unfinished wood and drywall that has been soaked by surge water are usually removed, since they hold both moisture and contamination. Cabinets and built-in fixtures are judged one at a time. What comes out is recorded by room and by material, so the owner can see exactly what was taken.
Once the surface and the silt are cleared, the structure is dried with air movers and dehumidifiers and checked with moisture meters until the readings return to normal. Surge losses are often slower to dry than rain losses, because the wet materials are more deeply soaked and the humid air outside does not help.
Surge water has usually crossed ground, a marsh edge or a flooded road before it reaches the building. It carries soil, organic matter and salt, so it is a more serious category than clean rain.
Rain that falls on a roof and runs down is a clean-water loss at first. Surge is different because it has been in contact with the land and everything the land holds. Porous materials that have taken it on, such as carpet pad, insulation and unfinished wood, cannot be fully cleaned in most cases and are removed. That is the reason the category matters: it changes which materials are kept, and the decision cannot be reversed once the material is gone.
Silt, salt residue and a tide line. Those three leave a surge loss looking clean on the surface while still holding moisture and smell in the structure.
Silt settles in the corners, along the baseboards and inside cabinet toe-kicks, and it stays damp for days. Salt residue can keep the surface damp and draw moisture from the air. The tide line marks where the water stood, and it is the best guide to what sits inside the wall above and below it. Clearing the silt and checking the line are steps that rain losses rarely need, and they are where surge jobs take most of their time.
Some of it. Solid wood and sealed hard surfaces can often be cleaned and dried, while upholstery, particleboard and anything soaked to the core usually cannot. The decision is made item by item on site.
Owners often ask whether a sofa, a dresser or a kitchen run can be saved. The honest answer depends on the material, the depth of the soak and the time the item sat in the water. Hard surfaces that were only wet at the bottom can often be cleaned, while particleboard that has swelled cannot be brought back. The homeowner is asked to photograph each item before it is moved, and the crew explains each decision before the item leaves the room.
Stay out of the water until the power has been checked, photograph the tide line and the rooms, and call the line before anything is pulled out or cleaned at home.
Photographs taken before the cleanup are the record the homeowner will need, and they are most useful when they show the tide line against a fixed object such as a door frame. Do not start clearing silt with a household vacuum, because the silt is wet and the vacuum will spread it. If the water came in from the bay side and rose above the outlets, keep off the floor until the electrical side is confirmed. The line is answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
The water and the category are the same, but the county changes who the homeowner calls for permit and county questions. The cleanup itself is handled the same way on either side of the bay.
The four areas on the Pinellas side of the bay sit across the water from Hillsborough. Their county offices, permit desks and mosquito and surge notices come from Pinellas, not Hillsborough, so a caller should name the county on the job. The cleanup does not change at the county line. What changes is the paperwork that follows, and the county named on the work order is the one the homeowner should ask about.
The most direct case. A rising tide reaches the first floor and leaves a line on the walls, the cabinets and the doors. The materials below that line are the ones to judge first, and the cabinets above it often survive once they are cleaned and dried.
Outbuildings sit lower and take water first. A garage that floods from a surge often holds stored goods, a water heater and a laundry set, and the cleanup has to cover the connection to the house as well as the garage itself.
Storm surge often arrives with rain, and the two losses mix. Rain that falls in a flooded room adds clean water to a surge category, and the cleanup treats the mixed water as the more serious of the two until the readings say otherwise.
Hurricane Milton in October 2024 was feared to bring surge into Tampa, and the surge did not arrive. Its rain and tornadoes still caused losses across the region, so a homeowner should plan for the bay-edge case even in years when the surge stays away.
Hillsborough Bay and Tampa Bay border the city on the west, and the Hillsborough River runs through it. Low ground near the water takes surge first, and Tampa homeowners who live near the bay should keep the readings and the photographs of their lower walls.
The Pinellas areas of the service list, including the north-east edge of St. Petersburg, sit on the far side of the bay. Surge calls there follow the same cleanup, and the county contacts on the job are the Pinellas ones.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent bay surge and storm-tide water cleanup, send the form and we'll call you back.
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Pumping standing storm water out of garages, ground floors and lower rooms across Tampa and Hillsborough County, starting with the water that is still moving.
Checking for mold after a water loss, cleaning or removing what it has reached, and keeping the assessor and the remediator apart where the rules require it.
Opening walls and lifting floors to the line the moisture readings set, removing what has soaked through and leaving the rest to dry.
Sorting, cleaning, drying and recording the furniture, documents, electronics and keepsakes that water has reached in a home.
In Tampa the wet and storm season runs from June to November, and most of the storm-driven water calls cluster in that window.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in October 2024 about 70 miles south of Tampa, near Siesta Key, as a Category 3 storm.
Most of the service area is in Hillsborough County, but four of the areas served are in Pinellas County across Tampa Bay: the north-east edge of St.
They are closely related. Both have crossed ground and usually carry contamination, and both are handled as more serious than clean rain. A surge is the rising tide itself, while flood water can come from rain and rivers, so the category is judged on site for each job.
Keep off the wet floor and do not switch the power back on. Call a licensed electrician to check the panel, the outlets and the wiring before anything is energised. The cleanup crew will also note the electrical side on the job record.
Drywall that has been soaked by surge water is usually removed, because it holds moisture and contamination inside the paper and the core. The cut line is set at the top of the tide line plus a margin, and the crew records the height and the room.
It can, if silt or wet insulation stays in place. Clearing the silt and removing the soaked porous materials is what stops the smell, and drying alone does not do that. The smell is one of the signs that a surge job needs more than surface cleaning.
Ask for the record of where the water came from and what it touched. The record should name the category and the materials removed, room by room. This page does not guarantee any work performed, and the work itself is between the homeowner and the local company that carries it out.
Call the insurer early and keep notes of the time and the name of the person you spoke to. Photograph the tide line and the rooms before anything is moved. Coverage for surge depends on the policy and on the insurer, and the insurance claims guide linked from this page sets out the general pattern.