Water damage help in Haysville, KS
Haysville sits just south of Wichita with the big floodway running past it and Cowskin Creek on its west side. The City runs its own water and sewer, so the first phone numbers are local ones.
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.
Haysville numbers
- Sewer backup, business hours: Public Works 316-529-5940
- Water leak, business hours: City Hall 316-529-5900
- Either one after hours, weekends, holidays: 316-529-5912
- Floodplain permits and elevation certificates: Planning, 316-529-5900
Where Haysville water comes from
From the City's floodplain management page.
Most of Haysville sits behind the Wichita-Valley Center Floodway, renamed the MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway, and the City's flood maps label that protected ground as having "reduced flood risk due to levee." Reduced is not zero. The City's floodplain management page says most local flooding happens north of the floodway and along Cowskin Creek, and it flags the many retention and detention ponds scattered through town as a second concern. It also warns that flash flooding can reach streets that do not normally flood.
The river gauge Haysville points residents to is the Arkansas River at East 83rd Street South in Derby. The peak on record there is 16.6 feet, set in the Halloween Flood of 1998. The river came close again on May 25, 2019, at 15.53 feet. The Wichita flood and freeze guide explains how the floodway was built and why the creeks still flood when the rivers stay inside it.
To check a specific lot, the City sends people to the Kansas Floodplain Viewer or FEMA's Map Service Center. Zones A, AE, AO and AH are the higher-risk labels, and those are where a lender with a federally backed mortgage will want flood coverage.
Sewage coming up a floor drain
Haysville's Wastewater Department looks after roughly 40 miles of sanitary sewer and 980 manholes, plus a treatment plant that handles about 650,000 gallons on an average day and is built for up to 2 million. When a basement drain backs up, the City's wastewater page asks residents to phone the department before a plumber. Crews can check the City's part of the line and tell you whether the problem is in the main or in your own service line, which can save a plumbing bill.
During business hours that is Public Works at 316-529-5940. Nights, weekends and holidays go to the non-emergency number, 316-529-5912.
Treat the water itself as contaminated. The sewage backup cleanup page covers protective gear, what gets thrown out and how restorers classify that water.
On coverage, the same City page notes that many insurers sell a sewer and drain endorsement as a rider on a homeowners policy, typically covering sanitary sewer backup and sump pump failure, and tells residents to check with their own company. The City says it is not affiliated with any company selling water or sewer line plans.
A leak on the water side
Haysville pumps its own water from wells and runs its own treatment plant, mains and meters. For a suspected leak, the City's water department page again says to phone the City first: City Hall at 316-529-5900 in business hours, or 316-529-5912 after hours. Staff can check the meter and the public side before you pay someone to dig.
Inside the house, close the main shutoff and kill power to any wet room before anything else. The burst pipe page walks through the order.
Office hours to know
Public Works is at 401 S. Jane and keeps Monday to Thursday hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. City Hall is at 200 W. Grand. Building permits and inspections run through Public Works, so a rebuild after drying starts with a call to 316-529-5940.
Before a big repair in a mapped floodplain
Haysville says any development inside the floodplain needs a permit first, and its list is broad: construction, filling, excavation, even fences. Plans and applications go to the Planning Department at 316-529-5900, which also handles questions about elevation certificates. The City asks for the FEMA 2023 elevation certificate form.
The rule that surprises people after a flood is the 50 percent test. Haysville's page explains that when the cost to repair damage from any cause, or to improve a building, passes half of the building's market value (land not counted), the whole building has to be brought up to current floodplain standards. Planned work is added to improvements made over the previous five years when the City does that math. Ask Planning how it applies to your house before you sign a rebuild contract, not after.
The City's own flood safety list, in short
When water is rising- Power
Shut it off at the service box
If you know water is coming in, switch off the electricity before it arrives. The City notes that electrocution is the second most common cause of death in floods.
- Gas
Turn off the gas
Shut the gas off before the house floods. If you smell gas, report it to the gas company and keep candles and open flames away.
- Outside
Keep kids out of ditches
Culverts and storm drains can pull a small child in. Six inches of moving water can knock an adult down, and two feet can float a car.
- After
Clean everything that got wet
Floodwater carries sewage and chemicals, so anything it touched needs cleaning. No generators or charcoal indoors.
Storm history: May 3, 1999
Haysville knows wind damage as well as water. On May 3, 1999, a tornado that touched down north of Wellington tracked about 24 miles north and produced F4 damage in Haysville, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita. It killed six people and damaged 150 homes and 27 businesses. The NWS survey traced the path to just south of Haysville and then almost straight north along Seneca toward I-235. Wind damage to a roof often turns into water damage within hours, which the storm and flood damage page covers.
Haysville questions
Is Haysville inside the referral service area?
Yes. Haysville is in Sedgwick County, which the service covers. Whether an independent restoration company can take a job right away depends on the day. If none can, you may not hear back.
Does flood insurance cost less in Haysville?
The City takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program and in FEMA's Community Rating System, and it says premiums in town are reduced by 15 percent as a result. A new flood policy usually waits 30 days before it takes effect, so buying one when rain is forecast is too late. Your agent can quote it.
My lender bought my flood policy. Are my belongings on it?
Possibly not. Haysville's floodplain page points out that policies bought by lenders are often for the building only, and suggests asking your agent about contents coverage and moving the policy into your name.