Emergency water removal is the fastest way to limit damage when water is standing in your home. A crew arrives with pumps and extraction units, removes what is on the floor and in low spots and then hands the structure to drying equipment. Calls come in at every hour, so the American Fork dispatch line is answered 24/7.
While you wait, shut off the source, lift belongings off wet floors and keep everyone out of the water. If the water touches outlets, the panel or an appliance, stay out and call the utility or 911 before you call us. We offer same-day response when available, and we do not promise a specific arrival time.
When standing water is an emergency
Water that you can see across a floor is already soaking into carpet pad, baseboards and the bottom of walls. The longer it stands, the higher it wicks. Standing water on a finished basement floor, water coming through a ceiling, and water pooling around a water heater or washing machine all call for immediate removal.
Burst pipe water damage
A burst pipe is the classic after-hours call. Callers describe water from a pipe under a sink flooding a kitchen floor, a pipe that let go in the afternoon and water running through an entire level. Cold weather is a common cause, and the city advises closing the irrigation shutoff valve and possibly blowing out sprinkler lines each fall for exactly that reason, since a freeze can crack a line that still holds water.
Close the main valve
Turn the main shutoff fully off. For a single fixture, use the shutoff under the sink or behind the toilet.
Drain the lines if it is safe
Opening a low faucet can relieve pressure and drain the line after the valve is closed.
Protect what you can
Lift furniture, move electronics and pull up small rugs.
Call dispatch
Tell us the source, the rooms and how long the water has been running.
What a crew does on arrival
The crew confirms the source is stopped, checks for electrical hazards and starts with extraction. Truck-mounted or portable units pull water from carpet and hard floors, submersible pumps handle deeper water and weighted extractors work on carpet that is saturated. The crew then takes moisture readings so the drying plan matches what the water actually did.
| Location | Typical equipment | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Finished basement | Submersible pump, then extraction unit | Drywall and carpet wick water upward |
| Kitchen or bath floor | Extraction unit | Water travels under cabinets and into the subfloor |
| Crawl space | Small pump and hand tools | Framing and insulation stay wet in tight spaces |
| Garage or utility room | Pump or wet vacuum | Water spreads toward finished rooms |
Water on the floor right now?
Shut off the source and call. Dispatch is open 24/7.
What American Fork residents should know about the water lines
The city supplies culinary water from springs in American Fork Canyon and five deep wells, and its water page notes that some city lines are old and that the city replaces some each year. Water laterals are required to be buried at least 48 inches deep unless the city engineer approves otherwise, according to the city's standards drawings. A break on the street side belongs to the city, and the city's after-hours water number is 801-404-1253.
A break on your side of the meter is yours to stop and fix. If you cannot tell which side the leak is on, shut off your own valve first, then call the city, then call us.
What decides the cost
Cost factors for water removal
- How much water there is and how deep it stands
- Whether the water is clean, gray or contaminated
- The location, since crawl spaces and finished basements take longer
- The time required for extraction before drying begins
- Whether mitigation and cleanup follow, which are scoped separately
Scope and price are explained before work starts. Many homeowners policies treat sudden and accidental water differently from gradual leaks, so ask your insurer, and keep your photos and receipts. The Utah Insurance Department says to call your insurer as soon as possible and to take steps that prevent further damage.
What happens after the water is out
Removal is the first stage. Drying follows under water mitigation, and ruined materials are cleared during water damage cleanup. When flooding came from outside the house, see flood damage restoration. Crews dispatch the same way to Lehi and the other neighboring towns.
Questions about emergency water removal
Yes. The dispatch line is answered 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays. We offer same-day response when available and we do not promise an exact arrival time.
Find the main shutoff valve, often where the water line enters the house near the water heater, and turn it fully off. Fixture shutoffs under sinks and behind toilets stop a single source. If you cannot find or turn the valve, the city lists an after-hours water number, 801-404-1253, on its water page.
Yes. Crawl space water is extracted with small pumps and extraction tools, and the crew then checks the framing and insulation. Callers describe water in a crawl space after rain or a pipe break, and the first question is always where it is coming from.
Pumps clear standing water quickly, but extraction is only the first stage. Moisture inside carpet, drywall and subfloor needs drying equipment afterward, which is why most jobs continue into mitigation.
Not until you know where it came from. Clean supply-line water is less risky than water from a drain, toilet or sewer. The CDC advises staying out of floodwater, and the EPA says contaminated water calls for a professional.
Shut off the main valve first, then call. A burst pipe can put a large volume of water into a house quickly, and removal that starts the same night limits how far it spreads.
Water still spreading or a question this page did not cover? Call (385) 988-9410