Open 24 hours, every day
Flood Damage Cleanup Across San Jose
Creek floods, burst pipes and sewer backups, from Hensley’s Victorians to Willow Glen’s Eichlers and the city’s mobile-home parks, handled by our Hayward crew.
Request Service
Tell us what happened and we'll call you back. In a hurry? Call (844) 623-3946.
- Open 24 hours
San Jose, CA
Can RestoreX help after a flood in San Jose?
Yes. San Jose calls go to our Hayward crew, about 29 road miles north of City Hall on East Santa Clara Street. After a creek overflow, a burst pipe or a sewer backup, we pump out standing water, dry the structure, remove what’s ruined and rebuild, in detached houses, apartment complexes and mobile homes alike.
San Jose is mostly houses, not towers. Of its 345,066 housing units, 51.3% are detached single-family homes and fewer than one in five sit in buildings of 20 or more units. The median home dates to 1976, but some pockets are much older: the Hensley district’s Victorian-era homes went up between 1865 and 1930, and Naglee Park was subdivided in 1902 with Coyote Creek as its eastern edge. The city also has 11,707 mobile homes, and each kind of building dries out differently after water damage.
Housing: U.S. Census ACS 5-year estimates. Distance is approximate.
About San Jose
What happened in San Jose's 2017 Coyote Creek flood?
On February 21, 2017, Coyote Creek overflowed at several points between Montague Expressway and Tully Road. Hundreds of homes and businesses sat under water for many hours, Highway 101 closed near Watson Park, and a 12:15 a.m. evacuation order covered about 14,000 people. Rock Springs took the deepest water, and its sewage pumping station was knocked out.
Valley Water calls it the worst flooding on that reach since Anderson Reservoir was built in 1950 (Valley Water). Heavy rain had pushed the reservoir to about 104% of capacity and over its spillway, and the creek hit a record 14.4 feet. Nearly 500 homes near Senter Road and Phelan Avenue were evacuated, and the National Weather Service logged multiple flooded homes in the Nordale area there. KQED also named the William Street Park neighborhood and three mobile-home parks near Old Oakland Road: Golden Wheel, South Bay and River Bend.
Coyote Creek isn’t the city’s only flood source. The Guadalupe River runs 14 miles north through San Jose to Alviso Slough and has flooded 15 times since World War II, including the 1955 Christmas Week flood that covered 8,300 acres. In March 1995, flooding near the San Jose Arena caused the NHL’s only rainout. Alviso, which flooded in the 1983 El Nino rains, holds the city’s lowest point, 13 feet below sea level.
Freeways go under too. On December 25, 2025, the NWS logged about 2 feet of water on southbound US-101 at Hellyer Avenue and all but one lane of southbound SR-87 flooded at Capitol Expressway (NWS storm reports). The city takes reports of sewer spills, overflows and local flooding at (408) 794-1900.
Permits & rebuilding
Which San Jose water damage repairs need a permit?
Not the surface fixes, but much of what sits behind them. San Jose exempts Sheetrock and taping unless the board is fire-rated, plus painting, cabinets, countertops, floor finishes and tile with no structural change. Wall alterations need a permit, and replacing a concealed trap, drainpipe or vent pipe counts as new plumbing work that needs one too.
San Jose repair checklist
- Start with the Building Division and Permit Center at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, or call (408) 535-3555.
- Fire-rated Sheetrock is the exception in Municipal Code 24.02.110, so replacing it takes a permit even though ordinary Sheetrock doesn’t.
- Inside a mapped flood hazard area, the floodplain administrator reviews permits for major repairs and gives no flood clearance unless the work uses flood-resistant materials and methods.
- Chapter 17.08 treats damage as substantial when restoring the structure would cost 50% or more of its pre-damage market value.
- Selling later? The city’s permit page notes that sellers must disclose unpermitted work.
Services in San Jose
What does RestoreX handle for San Jose properties?
Flood and leak drying, sewage cleanup after a lateral backs up, mold removal and the rebuild. We handle creek floodwater as contaminated water and keep it out of street drains, since San Jose’s storm drains carry runoff untreated straight to local creeks.
FAQ
San Jose Questions
Is Rock Springs still at risk from Coyote Creek?
Less than in 2017, though the work isn’t finished. An interim floodwall and embankment now protect Rock Springs, and Phase 1 of Valley Water’s Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project is complete. The full project, about 9 miles from Montague Expressway to Tully Road and about 600 parcels, is built for a flood the size of February 2017’s, and Valley Water expects it done by the end of 2028.
Who provides water service in San Jose?
It depends on where you live. San Jose Water Company serves most of the city, San Jose Municipal Water serves Alviso and the area north of Trimble Road among others, and Great Oaks Water Company serves an area east of Snell Road. Valley Water is the countywide wholesaler. Wastewater goes to the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility.
Who fixes a backed-up sewer lateral in San Jose?
Mostly the owner, who owns the lateral and must clear any blockage the City main didn’t cause. A city-approved wye cleanout, at least 4 inches and within 5 feet of the sidewalk, gives access. Single-family owners can add one under a Building permit, or the City will install one for a fee and then repair the line from the cleanout to the main. The house-to-cleanout stretch stays the owner’s.
Which RestoreX office covers San Jose?
Our East Bay office in Hayward. It sits about 29 road miles from San Jose City Hall, compared with more than 83 from our Petaluma office, which is why the Hayward crew covers the city. When you call (844) 623-3946, have the address handy and tell us what got wet.
Nearby
Does RestoreX cover cities around San Jose?
Yes. Mountain View to the northwest and Fremont to the north both have their own pages, and so do San Mateo farther up the Peninsula and Hayward, home to the office that serves all of them. Live just past the city line in a place not listed? Ask when you call (844) 623-3946.
Talk to RestoreX
Flooding or a burst pipe in San Jose?
Our Hayward crew picks up at (844) 623-3946.