Open 24 hours · on site within 2 hours2-hour response
Cleaning Up Sewage Backups in Mount Vernon Buildings
The city says most of its nearly 200 miles of sewers are over 100 years old and have caused flooding and backups. When one reaches your floor, our Harrison crews clean it out, dry the building and rebuild.
Get a Free Estimate
Tell us what happened and we'll call you back. In a hurry? Call (718) 357-9191.
- Free estimates
- Open 24 hours
Mount Vernon, NY
Who cleans up a sewage backup in Mount Vernon?
Strongwater Restoration handles it, sending crews from our office at 111 Calvert Street in Harrison, about 9 road miles from City Hall. We remove the contaminated water, take out soaked materials that can’t be cleaned, disinfect, dry the structure and rebuild, whether it’s a North Side house, a Fleetwood co-op or an apartment building downtown.
Mount Vernon fits 30,080 housing units and 72,427 people into one dense, older city. Census Bureau figures for 2020-2024 put the median build year at 1953, with about 82% of units built before 1980 and a third in 1939 or earlier. More than a third of all units sit in buildings of 20 or more apartments, so a single backed-up line can reach several households. Opening walls that old can also call for lead paint or asbestos work.
Housing: U.S. Census ACS 5-year estimates. Distance is approximate.
About Mount Vernon
Why do sewage backups keep happening in Mount Vernon?
Mostly because of the pipes. The city maintains nearly 200 miles of storm and sanitary sewers, says the majority are over 100 years old, and reports that the aging lines have caused flooding, backups and sewage seeping into storm sewers. Those storm sewers drain to the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers along the city’s edges.
The pollution side of the problem ended up in federal court. On September 19, 2023, the United States and New York State entered a consent decree with Mount Vernon over storm sewers that had sent raw sewage into the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers. The city estimates the required repairs at more than $100 million, and the decree calls for two pump stations and a $200,000 civil penalty. A clogged 10-inch pipe on Third Street was blamed for sewage backups in several buildings on West Third Street, and a new Third Street Pump Station was designed to replace it.
Residents know the trouble spots. In the county’s 2021 hazard mitigation plan, they reported flooding and overflowing sewers where Fulton Avenue meets 5th Street, Langdon Avenue, Prospect Avenue and Sandford Boulevard, at Columbus Avenue and Third Avenue, and on the Hutchinson River Parkway. Weather Service reports show that parkway closed by water at Lincoln Avenue and the Cross County Parkway in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2015. On June 2, 2022, flooding shut South Columbus Avenue at South 3rd Avenue, Mount Vernon Avenue at MacQuesten Parkway and Sheridan Avenue.
Mount Vernon is usually described in four parts: Downtown, Mount Vernon Heights, the North Side and the South Side, with the New Haven Line historically dividing the last two. In Fleetwood, large co-op buildings line the center of the neighborhood along Gramatan Avenue. The city’s main ZIPs are 10550, 10552 and 10553, and Metro-North stops at Mount Vernon West, Fleetwood and Mount Vernon East.
Permits & rebuilding
What does Mount Vernon require before repair work starts?
An approved permit, posted where the public can see it, before any work begins. The city’s Department of Buildings reviews applications for repairs, alterations, electrical and plumbing work, and its FAQ warns that working without a permit brings a violation and penalty fees. Applications are filed online through the city’s OpenGov portal, and permits stay valid for one year.
Mount Vernon paperwork before the rebuild
- Contact the Mount Vernon Department of Buildings at City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square North, 914-665-2484. Public hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; the office is closed to the public on Wednesdays.
- Budget for fees: $125 to file plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost on an existing one- or two-family home, or $15 per $1,000 on other buildings. Electrical permits follow the same schedule.
- Don’t let work get ahead of the paperwork. Legalization fees for work done without a permit can run $2,500 or $5,000 depending on the type.
- Replacing a storm-damaged roof? The city allows only two roofing layers before a full tear-off, and new siding requires a permit as well.
- Floodplain management sits with the Department of Buildings, and substantial-damage decisions follow National Flood Insurance Program standards. The city’s current FEMA flood map took effect September 28, 2007.
Services in Mount Vernon
What can Strongwater handle for a Mount Vernon property?
Sewage cleanup after a backup, water and flood drying, mold remediation when moisture lingers, fire and smoke restoration and the rebuilding that follows. About a third of the city’s units are in buildings with 20 or more apartments, so we also work with property managers and co-op boards when damage spreads across several units.
- Water Damage Restoration
- Fire Damage Restoration
- Smoke Damage Restoration
- Storm & Flood Damage Restoration
- Mold Remediation
- Sewage Cleanup
- Asbestos Abatement
- Lead Paint Removal
- Reconstruction After Damage
- Commercial Water Damage Restoration
- Commercial Fire Damage Restoration
- Restoration for Property Managers
- Estimating, Appraisal & Expert Witness
- Remodeling
FAQ
Mount Vernon Questions
Who should I call first about a water or sewer problem in Mount Vernon?
For a water main break or a street-side leak, call the Mount Vernon Board of Water Supply’s emergency line at (914) 668-7820; the owner is responsible for the line from the curb valve to the meter. Blockages and overflows in public sewers go to the city’s Bureau of Sanitary and Stormwater Sewers. For the cleanup inside, call us at (718) 357-9191.
How old are Mount Vernon buildings, and why does that matter?
Most predate 1980. The median building dates to 1953, and 33.8% of units were built in 1939 or earlier. Old plumbing, plaster and paint shape the cleanup, since materials may need testing for lead or asbestos before demolition. The water board is still finding lead service lines, too: it replaced 26 in 2025 and identified 97.
Can a Mount Vernon home flood outside a FEMA flood zone?
Yes. The city’s section of the county’s 2021 hazard plan says the remnants of Ida revealed how flooding can take place outside mapped flood zones. FEMA data in the same plan counted 59 flood insurance policies in the city, 93 claims and seven repetitive-loss properties. Whether a given policy pays is up to your insurer.
How many miles is your office from Mount Vernon City Hall?
Our office at 111 Calvert Street in Harrison is about 9.4 road miles from Mount Vernon City Hall on Roosevelt Square, or roughly 7.4 miles as the crow flies. We sit by the Harrison station on Metro-North’s New Haven Line, the same line that stops at Mount Vernon East.
Nearby
What other towns near Mount Vernon do we serve?
Yonkers sits across the Bronx River on Mount Vernon’s western border, and Pelham and Pelham Manor lie along the Hutchinson River to the east. We work in both, in Bronxville and New Rochelle, and throughout the rest of Westchester County, plus Greenwich and Stamford in Connecticut and New York City.
Talk to Strongwater
Sewage or floodwater in a Mount Vernon building?
Call (718) 357-9191. Strongwater’s office is about 9 road miles away in Harrison.