Phoenix line, 602
Phoenix spans century-old bungalows, postwar ranch houses and new subdivisions, all on the same hard city water. This page covers what applies citywide before you read your district's page.
Phoenix tap water is mostly river water. In 2025, about 97 to 99 percent came from the Salt and Verde rivers through the SRP canals and from the Colorado River through the Central Arizona Project, treated at five city plants, with roughly 2 percent from about 20 city wells. It is also hard, measuring 172 to 302 ppm, or 10 to 17.6 grains per gallon, in the city's 2025 report. That mineral load can build scale inside water heaters, valves and fixtures, and that scale can set up appliance leaks.
The city says lead service lines were removed when found, with the last documented replacements in the early 1990s. It still keeps an inventory of lead, galvanized and unknown service lines and replaces lead or galvanized lines found during maintenance. Galvanized steel narrows and corrodes from the inside as it ages, so a house with an old galvanized line can see pinhole leaks along the yard run or where the line enters the wall. A meter that turns with every tap shut is the simplest sign.
| Arcadia & Biltmore | ZIP 85008, 85016, 85018 | Flood-irrigated Arcadia lots, Biltmore-area districts and east Phoenix around Papago Park, where Phoenix and Scottsdale meet. |
|---|---|---|
| South Phoenix | ZIP 85040, 85042 | Canal-fed farm lots, Roosevelt Park bungalows and Baseline Road subdivisions between the Salt River and South Mountain. |
| Ahwatukee | ZIP 85044, 85045, 85048 | Master-planned Ahwatukee neighborhoods below South Mountain, where runoff, downbursts and HOA rules shape water damage repairs. |
| Sunnyslope | ZIP 85020, 85021 | Sunnyslope and North Central Phoenix: 1940s and 1950s tracts, canal-side streets and hillside condos in ZIPs 85020 and 85021. |
Phoenix has 653,065 housing units, and the median one was built in 1985. About 41.6 percent predate 1980 and 27.8 percent were built in 2000 or later, while 59.8 percent are single-family detached and 2.8 percent are mobile homes. Each era fails differently: older homes in the historic districts near downtown tend to leak at aged pipe joints, while 1990s slab homes more often lose a supply line under the floor or behind a washer.
Ownership matters too. About 57.3 percent of Phoenix homes are owner-occupied, which leaves a large share of renters who need to tell a landlord before calling anyone. In apartment and condo buildings, water from one unit often reaches the next, and the association, the owner and the tenant may all hold separate policies. Sorting out who is responsible for which surfaces early keeps drying from stalling while paperwork catches up, and the claims guide covers the steps.
Many older Phoenix neighborhoods still receive SRP flood irrigation. SRP delivers canal water to the high corner of a neighborhood, and the pipes, valves and berms beyond it are owned and maintained by the residents. Each delivery soaks about two to three inches into the yard, roughly monthly in cooler weather and twice monthly in summer. A worn berm or leaking valve can hold that water against a foundation for hours, and on a slab house it wicks into baseboards and carpet from the outside wall inward.
Electric service is split. On APS's Metro Phoenix map, central Phoenix between I-17 and about SR 51 and much of north and west Phoenix are APS territory, while east Phoenix beyond SR 51 and everything south of the Salt River is SRP; the line is irregular, so check your bill. Repair permits citywide go to the Planning and Development Department at 200 W. Washington St., filed through the SHAPE PHX portal, which also offers resources for home projects.
In February 1980, six Pacific storms over about nine days pushed the Salt River to 170,000 cfs, its highest since 1905. Eleven of the Valley's 13 river bridges were damaged or destroyed, I-10 closed for a time, about 6,000 residents were evacuated and damage reached about $80 million. While the I-10 bridge was closed, the Hattie B. commuter train carried more than 46,000 riders between Phoenix and Mesa.
Single-day rain records keep arriving. Sky Harbor took 3.30 inches on Sept. 8, 2014, the most on any calendar day since 1895, and 2.36 inches from the remnants of Hurricane Rosa on Oct. 2, 2018. In October 2025, the remnants of Priscilla and Raymond added 3.26 inches, making it the third-wettest October on record. Heavy, short storms can overwhelm flat-roof drains and low thresholds, so clearing roof scuppers before monsoon season and after a dust storm is time well spent; the storm flood cleanup page covers the rest.
| ZIP | Postal name | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 85003 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85004 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85006 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85007 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85008 | Phoenix | Arcadia & Biltmore |
| 85012 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85013 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85014 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85016 | Phoenix | Arcadia & Biltmore |
| 85018 | Phoenix | Arcadia & Biltmore |
| 85020 | Phoenix | Sunnyslope |
| 85021 | Phoenix | Sunnyslope |
| 85022 | Phoenix | North Phoenix |
| 85023 | Phoenix | North Phoenix |
| 85024 | Phoenix | North Phoenix |
| 85028 | Phoenix | Desert Ridge |
| 85032 | Phoenix | Desert Ridge |
| 85034 | Phoenix | Central & Midtown |
| 85040 | Phoenix | South Phoenix |
| 85042 | Phoenix | South Phoenix |
| 85044 | Phoenix | Ahwatukee |
| 85045 | Phoenix | Ahwatukee |
| 85048 | Phoenix | Ahwatukee |
| 85050 | Phoenix | Desert Ridge |
| 85054 | Phoenix | Desert Ridge |
Phoenix addresses use the Phoenix line, which routes your call to an independent restoration contractor serving your ZIP. Addresses in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa and other East Valley cities use the East Valley line instead.
No. In 2025 about 97 to 99 percent of the city's supply was surface water from the Salt, Verde and Colorado rivers, and only about 2 percent came from city wells. It is still hard enough to scale water heaters.
No. Calls are routed for water damage only: leaks, burst pipes, storm water, appliance failures and sewage backups. Fire, smoke and mold removal are outside the referral, though prompt drying helps keep mold from starting.
Local facts on this page were checked against these public records and pages.