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Water Damage Restoration in Kerr County, TX
Kerr County anchors the Hill Country's Flash Flood Alley, where limestone bedrock sheds rain into the Guadalupe River — which rose roughly 26 feet in about 45 minutes on July 4, 2025, killing 119 in the county. Connects homeowners with vetted local water-damage pros, 24/7.
Active floods · Kerr County
- Flash Flood Warning — Blanco, TX +1
- Flash Flood Warning — Gillespie, TX
- Flash Flood Warning — Edwards, TX +2
Kerr County sits in the flash-flood-prone Texas Hill Country, where the Guadalupe River can rise with little warning: on July 4, 2025, its gauge recorded a roughly 26-foot rise in about 45 minutes, driving one of the deadliest floods in Texas history. Flooding accounts for 5 of the county's 19 federally declared disasters, and with about 32 inches of rain a year plus repeated NWS flood warnings, water damage here is dominated by sudden riverine and flash flooding rather than slow seepage.
Water-damage risk in Kerr County
12
flood, hurricane & storm disasters declared in Kerr County (FEMA)
2025
most recent flood/storm declaration: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding (FEMA)
3
active flood & storm events tracked in Kerr County right now (live)
Sources: FEMA OpenFEMA — federally-declared disaster history (county FIPS 48265) · NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 Climate Normals (HUNT 3 SW, TX US)
Recent events in Kerr County
- Flash Flood Warning — Blanco, TX +1 Jul 16, 2026 Active
- Flash Flood Warning — Gillespie, TX Jul 16, 2026 Active
- Flash Flood Warning — Edwards, TX +2 Jul 16, 2026 Active
- Flood Warning — Kerr, TX Jul 17, 2026
- Flood Warning — Kerr, TX Jul 16, 2026
- Flash Flood Warning — Kendall, TX +1 Jul 16, 2026
Live from the DisasterStatus event tracker — Kerr County is named in each event's affected area.
Why Kerr County homes flood
Kerr County sits in the Texas Hill Country, where the Guadalupe River and its feeder creeks cut through Kerrville on their way east. The region's thin soils over limestone and steep, rocky slopes shed rain almost instantly rather than absorbing it — the reason meteorologists call this stretch of Central Texas "Flash Flood Alley." Although the county averages only 32 inches of rain a year, it tends to arrive in intense bursts that send water racing off the hills and into the river corridor within minutes.
FEMA maps the land along the Guadalupe and its tributaries as Special Flood Hazard Area, and the City of Kerrville regulates building there through its Floodplain Management Ordinance. But those maps center on the main river channel; flooding on the smaller creeks and low-water crossings that lace the county can strike homes well outside the mapped 1%-annual-chance zone.
The risk is not theoretical. On July 4–5, 2025, the Guadalupe rose roughly 26 feet in 45 minutes, killing about 119 people in the county and drawing a federal disaster declaration for flooding — one of five flood declarations among the county's 19 total. For a homeowner, that means water damage here can arrive with almost no warning, and a property's flood-map status is no guarantee of safety. Fast drying and cleanup matter — see the water damage restoration guide.
Flood repair permits & inspections
Kerr County Engineering administers floodplain permitting in the unincorporated county, outside the Kerrville and Ingram city limits. If any portion of a structure touches Zone A, Zone AE, or the floodway on FEMA's flood maps, a floodplain development permit is required, even for repairs or demolition. Before work on a roof, framing, walls, foundation, flooring, drywall, plumbing, electrical systems, or HVAC begins, the county also requires a substantial damage assessment, which tests whether repair costs reach 50 percent of the structure's value. Emergency steps such as removing damaged materials, cleaning surfaces, covering roof holes, boarding windows, and stabilizing unsafe structural elements may proceed without a permit.
| Permit / inspection | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Floodplain Development Permit (unincorporated Kerr County) | The county engineering office is the floodplain administrator for unincorporated areas outside Kerrville and Ingram. Required if any part of the structure touches Zone A, Zone AE, or the floodway, including for repairs or demolition. Owners confirm the zone on FEMA's Map Service Center, then submit the application with an Elevation Certificate (FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152, 2023 edition) prepared by a licensed professional surveyor. Applications tied to disaster damage carry no charge, and go to the county engineering office by email or in person. |
| Substantial Damage (SD) Assessment | Required by the county before repairing, altering, or replacing a roof, framing, walls, foundation, flooring, doors and windows, exterior siding and trim, interior drywall and paint, cabinets and countertops, plumbing, electrical systems, or HVAC on a floodplain structure. The assessment determines whether repair costs equal or exceed 50 percent of the structure's value; if so, the building is Substantially Damaged and must be brought into compliance with current flood damage prevention rules before work proceeds. Temporary protective work is exempt. |
| Substantial Damage Evaluation program (Kerr County Flood Damage Prevention Court Order) | Streamline Engineering conducts Substantial Damage Evaluations on behalf of the county for residential and commercial buildings in unincorporated areas, beginning August 14, 2025, after the July 4, 2025 flooding. The county engineering office receives the inspection data and issues the initial determination, written and mailed to owners of inspected structures. Evaluations are required by the National Flood Insurance Program and the county's Flood Damage Prevention Court Order. The Cities of Kerrville and Ingram are excluded. |
| On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) Permit | The county Environmental Health Department permits septic systems and requires a permit for alterations, repairs, or upgrades to an existing system as well as new installations, the common trigger after floodwater damages a septic field. The permitting fee applies only to systems being altered, repaired, upgraded, or newly installed. The department verifies systems are installed in accordance with TCEQ rules and investigates complaints. It publishes flood- and power-outage-specific OSSF guidance and funding options for owners. |
| City of Kerrville floodplain development permit and building permit | Structures inside the Kerrville city limits fall outside county floodplain jurisdiction; owners work with the city's own floodplain administrator in the Engineering Division, which handles floodplain administration alongside subdivision and development services. A floodplain determination or permit is required for any work in the floodplain, and a fee applies. The city's Building Inspection Division requires permits for most projects unless very minimal in nature, including repair work tied to flood damage, filed through the MyGovernmentOnline portal. |
| City of Ingram floodplain permitting | Structures inside the Ingram city limits are handled by the city rather than the county. County officials direct owners in Ingram to the city's Code Enforcement office as the responsible floodplain administrator for rebuilding and repair permits after flood damage, rather than to the county engineering office that serves unincorporated areas. |
Floodplain & drainage ordinances
- Kerr County Flood Damage Prevention Order No. 37967 (adopted Feb. 24, 2020) — floodplain development permit
- In unincorporated Kerr County, any repair, demolition, or improvement to a structure where any portion touches the FEMA 100-year floodplain (Zone A, AE, or Floodway) requires a floodplain development permit from the county engineer before work begins, not just for new construction.
- Kerr County Flood Damage Prevention Order No. 37967 — substantial damage / 50-percent rule
- When the cost to repair a flood-damaged structure back to its pre-damage condition equals or exceeds 50 percent of the building's pre-disaster market value, the county deems it substantially damaged, and the whole structure must then be brought into compliance with current flood-elevation standards.
- Kerr County Subdivision and Manufactured Home Rental Community Regulations (adopted Nov. 28, 2022, effective Jan. 1, 2023) — drainage requirements
- For land that is platted or developed in the county, a drainage plan sealed by a licensed Texas professional engineer is required, with runoff flow rates calculated for the 5-, 10-, and 100-year storm frequencies so new work does not divert stormwater onto adjacent properties.
Local water-damage notes
- County-owned siren network, UGRA-operated gauges — After the July 4, 2025 Guadalupe River flood, Kerr County and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority agreed that the county will own and maintain a flood-warning siren network while UGRA continues operating the river gauges that feed the watershed dashboard. Six of roughly 34 planned sirens were installed as of late June 2026, with the system targeted for completion in early fall 2026.
- Substantial Damage Evaluations in the 100-year floodplain — Following the flood, the county ordered Substantial Damage Evaluations of every damaged structure touching the 100-year floodplain (Zones A, AE and the Floodway) in unincorporated areas. Streamline Engineering began the inspections August 14, 2025 at no direct cost to owners; the results determine whether repairs, reconstruction or remodeling fall under the county's floodplain rebuilding rules and require a Floodplain Development Permit.
- Low flood-insurance take-up before the 2025 flood — Only about 2% of homeowners in the county carried flood insurance before the July 4, 2025 flood, which damaged more than 2,000 structures across the area — leaving most water-damage repairs uninsured and out-of-pocket.
- Floodway rebuilds and buyout limits — Homes in the Guadalupe River's floodway face the county's strictest construction restrictions, and buyouts are difficult to secure because lower rural land values often fall below FEMA's cost-benefit threshold. Some local engineers have declined to help homeowners draw up rebuilding plans for properties in these highest-risk zones.
Cleanup & recovery services nearby
- City of Kerrville Landfill & Transfer Station — — municipal transfer station at 3315 Loop 534 (operated by Republic Services) accepting solid waste, construction debris and inert material.
- Kerr County / City of Kerrville Household Hazardous Waste Collection — — annual resident drop-off for paint, chemicals, electronics and tires held at the Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3785 TX 27.
- Toss It Dumpsters — — 15-to-40-yard roll-off dumpsters delivered across Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt, Center Point and Mountain Home for cleanout and demolition debris.
- City Storage — — three gated Kerrville self-storage yards with climate-controlled and drive-up units for holding salvaged belongings.
- E-Z Self Storage — — Kerrville self-storage operator since 1970 with 700-plus units, climate-controlled space and RV/boat storage at Thompson Drive.
- Gilbert Tree Service — — tree removal, trimming, stump grinding and land clearing from a yard at 146 G Street South, Kerrville.
By the numbers
- Median year homes were built — Half of Kerr County's housing stock predates 1987, and older plumbing and materials raise the odds of water damage.
- 1987
- Properties in a FEMA-mapped flood zone — FEMA flood maps place roughly 2,560 properties in the county inside a designated flood zone, much of it unstudied Zone A in the Guadalupe River corridor.
- 6.5% (about 2,560)
- Guadalupe River crest at Hunt, July 4, 2025 — The July 4, 2025 flood was the highest ever recorded at the Hunt gauge, surpassing the 1987 flood by nearly a foot.
- 37.52 feet
- Mobile or manufactured homes — The county counts 4,307 mobile or manufactured homes among its 25,632 total housing units (ACS 2020–2024).
- 4,307