Opens in a new tab
Call(888) 217-4707
Technician carrying an air mover into a small beach cottage along the sand at dusk in Sunset Beach

Water Damage Restoration in Sunset Beach, CA

Sunset Beach, the strip of homes between the sand and Huntington Harbour, is covered.

Call
(888) 217-4707How the line works

Phone (888) 217-4707 (7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific) and the call is routed to an independent restoration contractor covering Sunset Beach and the wider Huntington Beach service area. HB Water Damage is an independent referral service that connects homeowners with independent contractors, and the contractor carries out the job.

IndependentNot owned by a contractor.

Check any licenseVerify at cslb.ca.gov.

Answered daily7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific

Huntington Beach areaPlus 20 nearby cities

In short

Water damage restoration in Sunset Beach means drying beach-level homes, many built before 1965, that can take water from storm waves on one side and harbour tides on the other, served by a sewer system largely laid in 1935. One call reaches an independent contractor.

Why Sunset Beach gets wet

High tide flooding the street between Sunset Beach cottages with waves visible at the far end
Huntington Beach Pier and the beach on a clear day

Water from two directions

A 2019 California Coastal Commission staff report states that Sunset Beach has historically flooded from wave action during storms and from the harbour during high tides, and that harbour flooding gets worse when a storm arrives at the same time. The report adds that areas along Pacific Coast Highway already flood from Huntington Harbour during extreme high tides. In early August 2023, news reports showed public works crews staging portable pumps in Sunset Beach during king tides.

The storms of 1982 and 1983 set the pattern

According to the same report, the El Niño storms of 1982/83 caused significant damage in Sunset Beach and neighboring Surfside, both from the ocean and from harbour flooding. That damage led to a seasonal sand berm being pushed up across the beach each year, first by the County and now by the City of Huntington Beach.

New flood maps in 2019

FEMA flood maps released on March 21, 2019 placed affected Sunset Beach and Huntington Harbour properties in the Special Flood Hazard Area, zoned AE or VE. A VE zone means the lot faces flooding plus wave action.

Older, smaller buildings

Census estimates for the 90742 zip code show a median build year of 1963, with about a third of its 487 homes built before 1950. About half are detached houses and roughly 30 percent are in three- and four-unit buildings. Original plumbing in houses that age, and shared lines in small multi-unit buildings, add inside leaks to the outside risks.

A sewer system from 1935

Sewer service here comes from the Sunset Beach Sanitary District, formed in 1930, not from the city. The city reports that most of the district's collection system dates to 1935, including the Broadway pump station, which serves about 90 percent of the service area. Its force main dates to 1983. The city's notice says both have reached the end of their service life, and a new 15-inch gravity sewer along Warner Avenue and the Sunset Greenbelt began construction in October 2025.

Tide or sewer water inside? Do this now

  1. If ocean or harbour water is entering, get people, pets and cars to higher ground first. Do not wade through it; treat it as contaminated.
  2. Switch off power to flooded rooms at the panel only if you can stand somewhere dry.
  3. For a plumbing leak, close the main. In a detached beach house it is usually at the front where the line enters. In a duplex or fourplex, the owner or manager may control a shared valve.
  4. If a toilet or floor drain backs up, stop using water in the house and report the problem to the Sunset Beach Sanitary District through sunsetbeachsd.org.
  5. Photograph the high-water mark, sand and debris lines, and the tide time before anything is moved.

Water in your home right now? Call and get connected to an independent restoration contractor who covers your street.

Call
(888) 217-4707

What the contractor does on a beach job

The contractor works to the IICRC S500 standard: inspect and map moisture, extract the water, remove materials that cannot be dried, then dry the structure with air movers and dehumidifiers while logging readings, and finish with cleaning and documentation. Sand and silt are cleared before drying starts. Ocean, harbour or sewer water is Category 3, so any porous material it soaked, including carpet, pad and the lower section of drywall, is removed and the area is sanitized.

Technician placing air movers and a dehumidifier in a Sunset Beach cottage with flooring lifted

Sunset Beach streets and zip codes we cover

Coverage runs along Pacific Coast Highway between Warner Avenue and Anderson Street, the homes on North and South Pacific Avenue facing the sand, the numbered streets, Broadway, Bayview Drive, and the blocks beside the Sunset Greenbelt.

Zip codes: 90742

Ready to talk to someone? Call, and ask the contractor for their CSLB license number before work starts.

Call
(888) 217-4707

Sunset Beach FAQ

Is Sunset Beach still unincorporated county land?

Sunset Beach became part of the City of Huntington Beach on August 22, 2011. City police and fire now serve it and the city supplies water, while sewer service still comes from the Sunset Beach Sanitary District.

My home is in a VE zone. What does my insurance cover?

Flood and wave damage is excluded from standard homeowners policies and needs a flood policy, which federally backed lenders require in AE and VE zones.

Who is responsible for a sewer backup into my house?

The district maintains its mains. The lateral from your house to the main is usually the owner's responsibility. Read our sewage backup cleanup page before touching anything.

Who is the contractor this line connects me to?

An independent restoration company that covers Sunset Beach. It gives its own estimate and does the work under its own contract with you. Ask for its license number and check it with the CSLB.

Also covering Huntington Harbour and Seal Beach.

Not sure what you are looking at? Call, describe what is wet, and an independent local contractor takes it from there.

Call
(888) 217-4707
Water spreading across a kitchen floor from under the sink at night with a phone on the counter
7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific

Water in your home? Talk to someone now.

One call reaches an independent restoration contractor who covers your area. The contractor handles the inspection, the estimate and the work.

Call
(888) 217-4707

Independent line. No charge to you. Calls may be recorded.