What Hurricane Irma Taught Us About Plumbing Preparedness

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Southwest Florida and left a trail of damage across Manatee County. At Rosco Plumbing, our phones did not stop ringing for weeks afterward. We responded to burst pipes, failed water heaters, sewage backups, and flooded utility rooms throughout Bradenton, Palmetto, and Lakewood Ranch. While the wind and surge got the headlines, much of the lasting damage happened to plumbing systems — damage that better preparation could have prevented.

Now, with the 2018 hurricane season approaching, we want to share the lessons we learned from Irma. These are not theoretical tips from a checklist — they are real observations from the hundreds of service calls we handled in the weeks and months following the storm.

Lesson 1: Shutoff Valves Save Homes, but Only If They Work

The single biggest lesson from Irma was the importance of a functioning main water shutoff valve. Many Bradenton homeowners who evacuated could not find their shutoff valve before they left, or they found it but could not turn it because it had been untouched for years. When the storm knocked a pipe loose or cracked a fitting, water ran unchecked for hours or even days. We saw homes where the water damage from a plumbing failure exceeded the wind damage from the hurricane itself.

Before this hurricane season, locate your main shutoff valve and test it. Turn it fully off, confirm water stops flowing, then turn it back on. If it is stuck, corroded, or leaks when you operate it, have a plumber replace it now. This is a one-hundred-dollar repair that can prevent tens of thousands of dollars in damage. We also recommend labeling your shutoff valve with a bright tag so anyone staying in your home can find it quickly.

Rosco's Tip

Take a photo of your main water shutoff valve location and text it to your family members. During Irma, several of our customers who evacuated were able to talk a neighbor through shutting off their water remotely — saving their homes from major water damage.

Lesson 2: Water Heaters Need Storm Prep Too

We replaced more water heaters in the two months after Irma than in any comparable period in our history. Many units were damaged by floodwater that reached electrical components — once floodwater contacts the thermostat, gas valve, or electrical connections on a water heater, the unit is usually beyond safe repair. Other units were damaged by power surges when electricity was restored after the outage.

Before a storm, turn your water heater to the lowest setting or "vacation" mode. If your water heater is in a location that could flood (ground level, low-lying area), consider elevating it on a platform — even six to eight inches makes a difference. And invest in a quality surge protector for electric water heaters. The twenty-dollar surge protector we now recommend to every customer would have saved dozens of water heaters after Irma.

Related: Water heater services

Lesson 3: Sewer Backups Were Worse Than Expected

The volume of stormwater that Irma dumped on Manatee County overwhelmed the municipal sewer system in several areas. We received calls from homeowners in Heritage Harbour, Greenfield Plantation, and central Bradenton reporting sewage backing up through floor drains, shower drains, and even toilets. The smell was terrible, but the health hazard was worse — raw sewage contains bacteria and pathogens that can cause serious illness.

A backwater valve is the best defense against sewer backups. It is a one-way valve installed on your sewer lateral that allows wastewater to flow out but prevents it from flowing back in when the system is overwhelmed. If your home does not have one, the cost of installation is typically $300 to $600 — a fraction of the cost of cleaning up a sewage backup, which often runs $5,000 to $15,000 including remediation and restoration.

We also learned that homes with properly capped and sealed sewer cleanouts fared much better. A missing or cracked cleanout cap is essentially an open door for floodwater and sewage to enter your system from the outside.

Your 2018 Hurricane Plumbing Checklist

Based on everything we learned from Irma, here is the essential plumbing checklist for the 2018 hurricane season. Do not wait until a storm is in the Gulf — handle these items now, during the calm months before June 1st.

Every item on this list is something that would have prevented specific damage we witnessed after Irma. This is not a generic checklist — it is built from experience right here in Manatee County. If you need help with any of these items, call Rosco Plumbing at (941) 345-2464. We would much rather help you prepare than repair.

Test your main water shutoff valve — replace if seized or leaking
Label your shutoff valve with a bright, visible tag
Inspect your sewer cleanout cap — replace if cracked or missing
Ask about a backwater valve installation if you do not have one
Turn your water heater to vacation mode before evacuating
Install a surge protector on electric water heaters
Fill bathtubs with water for emergency flushing before the storm
Photograph all plumbing fixtures and your water heater for insurance documentation
Secure outdoor plumbing — disconnect hoses, secure irrigation heads
Clear debris from exterior drains and gutters

Hurricane Irma was a wake-up call for Manatee County. The storms will come — that is life on the Gulf Coast. But the plumbing damage does not have to. The lessons we learned in 2017 can protect your home in 2018 and beyond. Rosco Plumbing has been helping Bradenton families weather storms since 1983. Call us at (941) 345-2464 to schedule a pre-hurricane-season plumbing inspection and make sure your home is ready for whatever the Atlantic sends our way.

Hurricane Prep 2018: What We Learned from Irma