Water damage help in El Dorado, KS
El Dorado sits on the west bank of the Walnut River, below El Dorado Lake, about 30 miles east-northeast of Wichita. In June 2025 the river and a day of torrential rain put water in houses across town.
Referral service, not a contractor. A callback request is passed to an independent local restoration company. We do not perform the extraction, drying or repairs ourselves.
El Dorado numbers
- Water leak at your house, office hours: City Hall 316-321-9100
- Water main leak or sewer backup, weekdays 7–3: Utilities 316-322-4448
- Water or sewer after hours (on-call): 316-323-4987 or 316-323-4997
- Building permits: 316-322-4453
The flood El Dorado remembers
Storms stalled along a slow front on June 3, 2025. A mesonet station two miles southwest of El Dorado measured 5.06 inches in 24 hours, and the West Branch of the Walnut River at El Dorado crested at 26.48 feet. According to the National Weather Service event summary, only one crest in that gauge's history ran taller, and it was the tallest crest there since 1979. Responders needed boats to reach people trapped in homes in northern El Dorado, and evacuations spread to the southwest corner of the city as the Walnut rose.
KWCH reported a voluntary evacuation of the Riverview area, including Walnut River Apartments and the corridors from Topeka to Lawndale and from 8th Street to McCollum, along with the Riverside area on North Main between 8th and 12th avenues. The Red Cross ran a shelter at the Butler County Community Center. The city manager later called it a "150-year storm event," as KSN reported, and downstream Augusta closed its levee openings as the Whitewater rose.
Two weeks on, cleanup was still slow. Public Works Director Brad Meyer told KWCH that streets with water rescues and closures were handled first, that residents should set debris at the curb, and that people whose sump pumps failed and left standing water should phone the City (KWCH, June 2025). On June 10, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and department staff set up at the El Dorado Community Building to take claim questions (Insurance Journal).
Two kinds of basement water
El Dorado's water distribution and sewer page sorts basement water into two sources, and the difference changes the cleanup:
- Stormwater. It comes in through windows or seeps through walls and floors, usually because of poor drainage or grading, or a sump pump, gutter or foundation drain that is not working.
- Wastewater. When a big rain overwhelms the sanitary sewer, sewage can push back up through basement plumbing.
The City says rainwater gets into the sanitary sewer through leaking manholes, cracked mains and home service lines, old roof or foundation drain connections, and sump pumps plumbed into the sewer, which the City says should never be connected to it. That extra flow is what surcharges into basements, and the City says it is lining older sewers and raising or lining manholes to cut it down. If your sump discharges into a floor drain or laundry tub, ask a plumber to reroute it outside.
Sewage on the floor is Category 3 water. The sewer backup cleanup page explains what that means for carpet, drywall and anyone doing the cleanup.
Who answers, and when
El Dorado's utility crews cover 129 miles of water main, 91 miles of sewer line, 1,872 manholes and 11 lift stations. The City says it has staff on duty or on call outside office hours, and it splits the phone numbers by problem:
- A leak at your house: City Hall, 316-321-9100, Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m. to noon.
- A water main leak or sewer backup: the Utilities Department, 316-322-4448, weekdays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Any water or sewer problem after hours: on-call staff at 316-323-4987 or 316-323-4997.
The City says it will check its own sewer main first, at no charge to the customer, before you hire anyone for a backup.
Catch a leak on the meter
The City's Get My Meter Info portal shows hourly, daily and monthly water use and can send leak alerts and abnormal-usage alerts. Turning those on is a simple way to learn about a running toilet or a split supply line before it has soaked a floor for a week.
Permits, shelters and the longer view
The El Dorado Building Department, 226 N. Vine St. (316-322-4453), issues residential permits for repair, remodel, plumbing and gas, electrical, mechanical and demolition work, and it inspects private water and sewer service lines as well as plumbing, mechanical and electrical work. Permits can be applied for online through the City's portal. Removing wet drywall and carpet is part of drying; rebuilding walls, replacing a water heater or re-running a sewer line usually brings in the permit office.
Tornadoes are the other half of El Dorado's weather. An F4 tornado on June 10, 1958 killed 13 people in the city, and a memorial was built in Graham Park in 2008 (Wikipedia). During tornado warnings the City opens two storm shelters: the basement of City Hall at 220 E. First, and the Senior Center at 210 E. Second, which is the accessible choice for anyone who cannot manage stairs. A roof opened by wind lets rain in fast; the storm and flood damage page covers tarping and what to photograph.
El Dorado draws its water from El Dorado Lake, a reservoir finished in 1981 whose watershed is largely Flint Hills tallgrass prairie, according to the City's water treatment page. Used water goes to the El Dorado Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility, which began operating in 2007 and returns treated water to the Walnut River.
El Dorado questions
Is El Dorado in the referral service area?
Yes. El Dorado is in Butler County, which the service covers. Because it sits farther from Wichita than most covered towns, whether an independent company can come out quickly depends on the day. If none can, you may not hear back.
My basement took water in a storm. Is it flood or sewer?
Look at where it entered. Water from windows or walls points to stormwater; water rising from a floor drain or toilet, especially with an odor, points to a sewer backup. The City will check its main first if you phone its sewer number. The basement cleanup page has a longer checklist.
What should I keep for an insurance claim after a flood?
Photos before anything is thrown out, a list of damaged items, receipts for emergency work and the drying company's paperwork. This site does not handle claims; your agent or insurer does.