ZIP codes
Primary ZIP 90401. Also covered: 90402, 90403, 90404, 90405.
Water utility
City of Santa Monica Water Resources Division
Permits and inspections
City of Santa Monica Permit Services Center
Dispatch
Emergency dispatch available around the clock, every day, from Marina Del Rey.
Apartments first: how a Santa Monica leak travels
Roughly 73 percent of occupied homes in Santa Monica are renter-occupied, so apartments are the most common building type to hit. In an apartment, a leak rarely stays in one unit. It follows pipes, wall cavities and ceiling joists into the unit below and sometimes sideways to the unit beside it.
If you rent, tell your landlord or property manager right away with photos and the time you noticed the water. Who pays depends on the lease and how the water started, so keep everything in writing.
Condominiums and association rules
Condo owners carry a different set of questions. Before you call an insurer, ask the association which parts of the building it insures, which parts belong to your policy and who to notify when water starts in a common wall.
Do not wait for those answers to start drying. Mold needs moisture, and drying can usually begin while the paperwork catches up. We document the damage with photos and moisture readings you can give the association and your insurer.
Older bungalows and small homes
Santa Monica also has older single-family homes and small bungalows, and their problems are different. Slow leaks inside walls, aging supply lines and past remodels around old pipe are common. A damp baseboard or musty cabinet is often the only early sign.
On the north side, bluffs separate the neighborhood from the beach. Owners near that edge should check the FEMA flood map for their address and watch where rain runs when a storm is heavy.
When water is spreading in Santa Monica
Call the 24/7 line the moment water starts to move. We ask what kind of building you are in, which floor the water is on and whether the source is stopped. Then we send a crew with extraction units, moisture meters, air movers and dehumidifiers, with same-day response when available.
We never promise a specific arrival time, but we do stay on the phone and tell you what is safe to do while you wait.
Your first ten minutes
Stop the flow
Close the fixture valve or the unit shutoff. In a multi-unit building, ask management to close the riser.
Cut power only if dry
If the panel is dry, switch off the wet-area circuits. If not, call the utility or 911.
Lift and photograph
Photograph the damage, then raise rugs, boxes and electronics onto counters or beds.
Keep clear of sewage
Water from a toilet or drain is contaminated. Keep children and pets out until the crew has assessed it.
Main Street, Montana Avenue and the Promenade
Santa Monica has several commercial strips. Third Street Promenade runs between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway, Montana Avenue anchors the north side and Main Street the south. Restaurants and shops on those blocks often sit under apartments, so a failed kitchen line can wet living rooms upstairs.
Ocean Park, Pico and the Bergamot area each have older mixed-use buildings. If you manage a ground-floor shop in any of them, call before you move stock, because we can often protect inventory by drying the room around it.
How we order the work in Santa Monica
Because apartment losses spread, water damage cleanup and water mitigation usually start together. Standing water goes first through emergency water removal, and water damage repair rebuilds what was removed.
Neighbors in Venice face older plumbing, while Culver City has its own creek questions. Each of those pages shows how the order changes with the building.
Coverage across all five Santa Monica ZIPs
We cover 90401, 90402, 90403, 90404 and 90405. Tell us your street and cross street when you call and we will place you quickly, whichever of the five ZIPs your building falls in.
Water supply, permits and policy questions
Santa Monica supplies its own water through the City Water Resources Division. Per the city's 2025 water quality report as reported by local press, about 75 percent comes from local groundwater and about 25 percent is purchased from Metropolitan Water District. Ask the division for its report if you want to know what flooded your floor.
For repairs, start with the City Permit Services Center and ask whether your work needs a permit. Sudden and accidental water damage is often covered and gradual leaks often are not. Check your policy and ask your insurer.
Leak in a Santa Monica apartment, condo or bungalow? Call the 24/7 line and tell us which floor the water reached.
Call (424) 550-5662Frequently Asked Questions
We cover 90401, 90402, 90403, 90404 and 90405. That includes the Promenade and downtown blocks, Montana Avenue and the north side, Ocean Park and Main Street, and the Pico and Bergamot areas.
Yes. The 24/7 line answers at night and on weekends, with same-day response when available. Tell us the building type, the floor and whether you can reach the shutoff.
Under the published ANSI/IICRC S500 standard, a structure is dry when moisture readings match those of unaffected reference materials. In a Santa Monica apartment we log readings on each visit and share them with you, and with your landlord or association if you ask. Ask any company whether its crews work to S500.
Tell your landlord right away, take photos and call our 24/7 line. We map the moisture and explain scope. Who pays depends on your lease and how the water started.
It depends on where the leak started. Ask the association which parts it insures and compare that with your owner policy. We document the damage so the paperwork is easy.
Often yes. We dry the room around stock quickly and move what we can. Call before you remove anything so we can photograph the damage and place equipment correctly.
Start with the City of Santa Monica Permit Services Center. Ask whether your repair needs a permit and confirm your parcel's jurisdiction before any work goes in.