Emergency
Storm Surge & Tidal Flooding Palm Harbor, FL
Surge and tidal water rise from the ground up and carry salt and silt with them. Anything porous they soaked is treated as contaminated. Outside water that rose into the building is treated as contaminated, and porous material it reached is removed. Salt left behind in materials keeps pulling water from the air, so it is cleaned out with the rest.
Shut off the water, then pick up the phone
Often needed alongside
- Emergency Water Extraction
Standing water removed before it soaks into slab, block and flooring - the first step after any failure, and the one humid air makes urgent.
- Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion
Wind pushes rain sideways through window frames, stucco and the base of the wall. The roof can hold and the house still take water.
- Sewer & Septic Backflow Cleanup
Heavy rain and a high water table can push sewage back through the lowest drain in the building. Clear or murky, it is handled as sewage.
Frequently asked questions
Does Palm Harbor's Gulf side take on water differently from its Lake Tarpon side?
It does. The community lies between the Gulf of Mexico on the west and Lake Tarpon on the east. On the Gulf side, along St. Joseph's Sound, the water at the shore is the sea's. Lake Tarpon is fresh water held by a control structure that keeps salt water out at high tide, so a July storm on that side raises the lake rather than bringing in the sea.
What controls the level of Lake Tarpon near Palm Harbor?
An outfall canal and its water-control structure, completed in 1971 to help regulate flooding around Lake Tarpon and the lower sections of Brooker Creek. The structure also keeps salt water from entering the lake during high tides. Lake Tarpon is the largest lake in Pinellas County, about four square miles, so after a wet July the water it holds back is fresh.
Why do Crystal Beach houses near the Sound stay damp inside?
Crystal Beach was platted on a grid in 1912 along St. Joseph's Sound, between Avery and Sutherland bayous, and much of its shore is still lined with mangroves. A house close to that shore takes its outdoor air straight off the water. Wherever that air leaks into cooled rooms, around doors, windows or attic openings, it condenses on the coldest walls first.
Palm Harbor's own page carries them beside the local figures.