Prepare your plumbing before a Tampa Bay hurricane

Choose the right storm path first

Start with the current condition—not a generic checklist. The safest next step changes once an alert, evacuation order, flood, or utility notice is active.

Before the storm: make the property easier to understand

These steps create a usable record without asking a homeowner to perform plumbing, gas, or electrical work.

Start with the authority that serves the property

Bookmark the exact local and utility pages now. Provider boundaries do not always match city or county boundaries, so confirm the name on the property's water bill or service record.

Open the current notice during an active event instead of relying on a saved screenshot. The exact serving utility and current authority instructions control.

Read the exact water notice before using the tap

A boil-water notice, a do-not-drink notice, and a do-not-use notice are not interchangeable. Follow the current notice from the serving utility until that authority rescinds it. Under a boil-water notice, an ordinary refrigerator filter, faucet filter, or ice maker is not a substitute for the stated treatment instructions. If fuel, chemicals, or another toxic contaminant may be involved, boiling or household disinfection may not make the water safe.

• Discard ice made while a notice was active when the authority instructs you to do so.
• Use only the current notice for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, infant formula, pets, and appliance use.
• Do not assume clear-looking water is safe or that cloudy water is necessarily contaminated; the official notice controls.
• If the notice is unclear for a medical need or specific appliance, contact the serving utility or public-health authority.

During the storm: protect people, not equipment

Use official alerts for evacuation, shelter, drinking-water, outage, sewer, and re-entry instructions. Do not repeatedly test fixtures during a known service disruption, and do not assume an area-wide pressure or wastewater problem is private plumbing.

• Stay out of floodwater; it can contain sewage, chemicals, debris, animals, and electrical hazards.
• Do not stand in water near an appliance, panel, cord, pump, or other electrical equipment.
• Do not operate an unfamiliar street-side or utility valve.
• If wastewater service is disrupted, reduce nonessential water use and follow the serving authority's instructions.

Gas, generator, and wet-equipment boundaries

If you smell gas, leave immediately and call 911, the fire department, or the responsible gas utility from outside; do not use switches, phones, flames, or attempt a valve inside the suspected area. Keep portable generators outdoors and at least 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents—never in a home, garage, or carport—and use a working battery-powered carbon-monoxide detector. Do not restart or touch a water heater, pump, appliance, outlet, or control that is wet or standing in water.

• Do not enter a wet utility room or garage to photograph equipment.
• Do not use a gas oven, grill, or generator indoors for power or heat.
• Have flood-exposed electrical, gas, pumping, and water-heating equipment evaluated by the appropriate qualified professional before use.

Sewer, septic, or floodwater: use the right branch

After the storm: a safe return sequence

Do not begin with a repair. Begin by confirming that people can safely approach the property and use the water and wastewater systems.

1. 1

   Wait

   Return only when the responsible authority says conditions and access are safe.

2. 2

   Read current notices

   Check drinking-water, boil-water, pressure, sewer, and outage guidance for the exact service area.

3. 3

   Observe from a dry, safe location

   Look for visible leaks, displaced equipment, unusual odors, loss of service, or wastewater—without entering water or touching wet equipment.

4. 4

   Document before cleanup

   When it is safe, photograph or video visible conditions before cleanup or permanent repair. Record the time, current notices, affected fixtures, and visible model or serial information without moving equipment.

5. 5

   Preserve records

   Keep receipts, inspection notes, utility messages, and repair estimates. Ask the insurer and local building authority what they need before permanent work begins.

6. 6

   Choose the responsible contact

   Use emergency services for immediate danger, the utility for area-wide or street-side service, and a plumber for private plumbing once access is safe.

Who to call first