Phoenix line, 602
Between the Salt River and South Mountain, farm lots, 1920s houses and new subdivisions sit side by side. That mix decides where water comes from and how a house takes it.
Phoenix line(602) 835-1816Common questions
South of the river, ZIP 85040 holds the older housing of South Phoenix. Its median home dates to 1983, 45.5 percent of units predate 1980, and the Roosevelt Park historic district near 7th to 9th Streets and Southern Avenue has a period of significance of 1924-1942. Roosevelt Place, elsewhere in South Phoenix, was laid out in the 1920s on one- and two-acre lots carved from Bartlett-Heard land. On older houses like these, leaks tend to come from aged supply lines and drains, and a large lot often hides a long, buried service run between the meter and the house.
ZIP 85042, toward South Mountain Park, is newer: a median year built of 1992, 41.8 percent of units from 2000 or later, and 72.9 percent single-family detached. From the late 1990s, subdivisions replaced citrus groves and flower fields along Baseline Road. On a slab-built house, a pressurized line that fails under the floor shows up as warm tile, a damp baseboard or a meter that keeps turning. Those are the signs that call for slab leak detection rather than more mopping.
Two early canals still define this part of the city. The Western Canal, built in 1912 and 1913 from 48th Street to 19th Avenue to serve South Phoenix farms, runs just north of Baseline Road between I-10 and Central Avenue. Farmers on the lower slopes of South Mountain built the Highline Canal above it in 1912, with water pumped 40 feet up from the Western. The village plan still counts flood-irrigated properties, farm fields and large-lot horse properties among its housing, so canal water reaches many yards here on a regular schedule.
Those neighborhood systems are aging. After the August 2014 storms, runoff and erosion damaged SRP irrigation laterals, canal banks and bank roads across about 30 square miles of South Phoenix and Laveen, delaying deliveries. More recently SRP piloted repairs to one South Phoenix neighborhood system and estimates the work will save almost 76 million gallons over five years. A cracked lateral or a sunken berm lets irrigation water pool against a foundation, so walking the berm line before each delivery is a sound habit for any flood-irrigated lot.
South Mountain Park and Preserve covers more than 16,000 acres along the south edge of these neighborhoods, and its slopes shed rain quickly. In the Aug. 12, 2014 storm the heaviest totals fell near the mountain: 2.58 inches at the park headquarters and 1.34 inches at Roeser Road and 2nd Street in 85040. Runoff from a mountain front carries sand and silt, so water that reaches a garage or patio door usually leaves sediment behind. That debris has to be cleaned out of flooring and wall cavities before drying equipment can work properly.
The Salt River forms the northern boundary, and its February 1980 flood, which peaked at 170,000 cfs, left the Mill Avenue Bridge as the only Valley crossing open to drivers. Today the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area covers 600 acres along five miles of the riverbed between 24th Street and 19th Avenue, fed by five groundwater pumps and 33 storm-drain outfalls. Those outfalls carry neighborhood stormwater to the river, and a home's own risk depends more on its grading, roof and irrigation berms than on the riverbed itself.
Both South Phoenix ZIP codes below are covered through the Phoenix line.
| 85040 | Salt River frontage south to Baseline area; Roosevelt Park historic district; median home built 1983. |
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| 85042 | South toward South Mountain Park; 72.9 percent detached houses, median home built 1992. |
All of 85040 and 85042 is inside the City of Phoenix, and the South Mountain Village has no county jurisdiction, so repair permits go to the city's Planning and Development Department. Several overlays apply here, including the Rio Salado Interim Overlay and the Baseline Area Overlay, and they mainly matter when exterior work changes a building. Electric service south of the river is SRP territory on APS's own map. Mobile homes make up 3.3 percent of units in 85040 and 4.9 percent in 85042, and their raised floors need checking underneath after any leak.
A small leak under a sink, caught early, is usually a towel-and-wrench job. When water has crossed rooms, soaked carpet or reached drywall, the Phoenix line routes your call to an independent contractor who serves your ZIP, and the referral covers water damage only, not fire, smoke or mold removal. Photograph the damage before cleanup begins, because those photos carry a homeowner's claim much further than a description written afterward.
It depends on your policy and on how the water entered. Many policies treat surface water differently from a sudden pipe break, so read the water and flood sections, photograph the berm and the interior, and ask your insurer directly before repairs begin.
SRP delivers water to the high corner of the neighborhood. The pipes, valves and berms beyond that point belong to the residents who share the system, and SRP liaisons can advise on repairs.
Look beneath the home as well as inside it. Water can collect on the underside of the floor and in the insulation, out of sight. Shut off the supply, open the skirting if you can, and note any sagging or soft spots in the floor.
(602) 835-1816. The Phoenix line takes calls for 85040 and 85042.
Water damage is the only service this number places in South Phoenix. Mold removal, fire and smoke go elsewhere.
The Phoenix overview covers the city's water, power and permits in one place.
| Ahwatukee | ZIP 85044, 85045, 85048 | Annexed: 1980-1987, City of Phoenix. Phoenix line. |
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