How Much Does Basement Flood Cleanup Cost in Macomb County, MI? (2026)

Cleaning up a flooded basement in Macomb County runs $2,000 to $4,500 for clean water from a broken line, $3,500 to $7,500 for gray water from a dead sump pump, and $6,500 to $15,000 or more for storm floodwater or sewage. Finished space costs more than bare concrete. Prime Restoration is on site in 25 minutes at (586) 277-1069.

What does a flooded basement cost in Macomb County, by water type?

Restoration pricing starts with one question: how dirty is the water? Prime uses the published 2026 Michigan bands from its statewide cost guide. The dollar figures below are for a typical 600 to 1,000 square foot basement.

• Clean water, $2,000 to $4,500. A burst copper or PEX line, a leaking water heater or a failed appliance hose. The rate is $3.75 to $4.50 per square foot.
• Gray water, $3,500 to $7,500. A sump pump that quit, groundwater that came up through the slab, a washer that overflowed. The rate is $4.50 to $6.75 per square foot.
• Storm floodwater or sewage, $6,500 to $15,000 or more. Rain that ran over the yard into the window well, a retention pond or drain that spilled, or sewage from the floor drain. The rate is $7.00 to $12.50 per square foot.

Finish level moves the number inside each band. The Prime cost calculator multiplies by 0.85 for an unfinished basement and 1.15 for a finished one. A Macomb County ranch with a carpeted rec room and a drywalled laundry corner sits near the top. A bare block basement with a furnace and shelving sits near the bottom. Sewage has its own finished and unfinished bands, covered on the Macomb County sewer backup cost page.

All figures are planning ranges for mitigation. Prime confirms the real number during a free on-site walk-through.

My basement is flooded in Macomb County. What should I do right now?

1. Check the electric before you step in. Standing water near a panel, outlet or furnace means you wait outside and call DTE.
2. Find the source. A hissing line has a shutoff valve. A drain that gurgles means stop using sinks, tubs and the laundry.
3. Phone Prime Restoration at (586) 277-1069. The nearest crew is on site in 25 minutes and begins pumping on arrival.
4. Photograph the waterline on the walls, the wet floor and every damaged item before anything moves.
5. Carry out photos, documents, laptops and small valuables. Leave sofas, beds and appliances for the crew.
6. Skip the household vacuum, and keep bleach away from ammonia cleaners.
7. Call your carrier and ask what your policy says about water from this particular source.
8. Note the date you first saw water. A claim against a municipal sewer has a written-notice deadline of 45 days.

Which company do I call when my basement floods in Macomb County?

Call Prime Restoration at (586) 277-1069 before anyone else. Prime has been a family water damage restoration business since 1988, with Macomb County offices in Sterling Heights, Macomb and Shelby Township. The first visit pumps the water, finds out where it came from and starts the moisture log. Your insurance company and your plumber both need that record. If a plumber or electrician is needed, Prime helps get one to the house.

How much does each step of basement flood cleanup cost?

A Macomb County invoice is built from unit prices. Pumping runs $0.55 to $2.25 per square foot, higher when the water is gray or black. Drying equipment is billed per day. A Dri-Eaz Velo Pro air mover costs $25 to $45 a day, and a typical job uses 6 to 12 of them. A Dri-Eaz LGR 7000XLi dehumidifier costs $115 to $165 a day, and a typical job uses 1 to 3. Both run for 3 to 5 days.

Demolition and haul-away come next. Drywall removal costs $2.25 to $3.85 per square foot, insulation removal and replacement $1.75 to $3.25, and carpet pad $0.65 to $1.15. Antimicrobial treatment adds $0.35 to $0.65 per square foot, and a HEPA air scrubber on a contaminated loss costs $85 to $135 a day. Technicians who move your furniture and boxes bill $35 to $75 an hour.

Pumping and the first hours

Crews bring truck-mount extractors and submersible pumps. Water over an inch deep goes out through a hose. A thin skin of water goes into a wet vacuum. The crew then checks the sump pit, the floor drain and the window wells to learn why the water came in.

Why drying runs for days

Concrete block and framing hold water long after the floor looks dry. Velo Pro air movers sweep air across the lower walls. LGR 7000XLi dehumidifiers pull moisture out of that air. A technician comes back every day with a moisture meter and changes the setup. Drying ends when the meter reads dry, not when a set number of days has passed.

The flood cut

The crew cuts the drywall in a straight line, normally 24 inches above the floor, and removes the wet section along with the insulation behind it. This opens the cavity to the dehumidified air. When the water was sewage or storm runoff, the cut goes all the way up because contamination climbs the paper face of the board.

Carpet and pad

Pad soaks like a sponge and goes in the dumpster on every gray or black water loss. Carpet from a clean-water leak can sometimes be lifted, dried and relaid. Carpet from any other source is hauled out.

Mold remediation when growth shows

The EPA advises drying water-damaged items and areas within 24 to 48 hours. Pumping on the first day usually beats that clock. When growth is already on the wall bottoms, Prime adds a mold remediation scope after an on-site inspection, with containment and HEPA scrubbing. The price depends on how far the growth runs, so it is set on site.

Rebuild

The statewide guide shows a $6,000 sample project where mitigation takes about $2,500 to $3,500 and rebuild takes about $2,500 to $3,500. Rebuild means new drywall, insulation, flooring, paint and trim. Prime holds Michigan Residential Builder license 262500492 and does both phases. Look it up on the LARA license lookup.

Why do two Macomb County basement floods cost so differently?

• The water type decides which band you are in.
• Hours matter. The calculator scales a fresh loss by 0.9 and a loss that sat for days by 1.3.
• Area matters. A single room scales by 0.7 and a full level by 1.45.
• Stored belongings add hours of lifting and disposal.
• Visible mold adds a separate scope.
• The rebuild finish list, from flooring to trim, sets the second half of the project.

How did the water get into my Macomb County basement?

Sump pump failure

Pumps die from worn switches, clogged intakes and power cuts in the same storm that fills the pit. Prime prices this as gray water. A battery backup stops a second flood.

Seepage and a high water table

Homes near Lake St. Clair, the Clinton River and the county drains see water through the floor joint when the ground is full. It arrives slowly and soaks the carpet edge and the drywall bottom. The gray-water band applies, and the days it sat can add up to 30 percent.

Water heater or supply line

Clean water is the lowest band. A homeowners policy normally pays for a sudden burst. If the line froze, the burst pipe emergency page shows how to shut it off.

Rain across the yard

The National Weather Service summary of August 11, 2014 says 4 to 6 inches fell in four hours, and names southern Oakland and Macomb counties among the hardest hit. Rain that runs across the ground and into a window well counts as storm floodwater, Category 3.

Sewer backup

Sewage rising through a basement drain is Category 3 and has its own bands and claim rules. See the Macomb County sewer backup cost page.

Will my insurance pay for the flooded basement?

It turns on the water source, and the carrier makes the call. Here is how Michigan policies usually sort it.

• A sudden burst supply line or water heater is usually covered under the standard policy.
• Sewer and drain backup, and sump pump overflow, are covered only if the policy carries a water backup endorsement. It costs roughly $40 to $150 a year and carries a limit of $5,000 to $25,000.
• Rising water and surface flooding need a federal flood policy. The state's insurance regulator, DIFS, says flood damage is typically not covered without federal flood insurance.
• Long-term seepage is often excluded as a maintenance issue.

Even a federal flood policy pays for only some basement items. The FEMA basement fact sheet names sump pumps and unfinished drywall as covered and finished walls and flooring as excluded. Read your own policy for the current wording.

A claim against the municipality

When a public sewer fails, Public Act 222 of 2001, MCL 691.1416 to 691.1419, can make the agency liable. Written notice is due within 45 days of discovering the damage. The county's Office of Public Works runs three multi-community sewer systems serving 800,000 residents, and your city or township may run its own. Learn which agency owns your pipe before you file.

Which Macomb County communities file the most flood claims?

The federal flood program publishes its claim records. Prime pulled the Macomb County file from the OpenFEMA NfipClaims dataset on November 4, 2026. This table lists the communities with the most claims on record.

Community	Claims, 1978-2026	At a building with a basement	Claims dated August 2014
St. Clair Shores	424	269	15
Harrison Township	369	75	4
Chesterfield Township	157	27	1
Clinton Township	93	64	31
Sterling Heights	49	38	21
Whole county	1,437	623	99

Read it with care. These are claims under federal flood policies, which leave out sewer backup, sump failure and burst pipes. Most Michigan homeowners have no flood policy, so the true count of wet basements is far higher. A basement here means the record lists a finished or unfinished basement. The county total of 623 basement claims splits into 341 finished and 282 unfinished. The August 2014 column shows where that storm hit hardest, with Clinton Township and Sterling Heights standing out. The shoreline communities hold their counts from high-water years, and 1986 alone has 515 claims, the most of any year. Dollar payouts are left out because they span nearly five decades and are not adjusted for inflation.

What should I ask a restoration company before I sign?

Prices vary between companies, and so does the paperwork. Ask five things before you sign anything.

• Will the scope list every removed material on its own line, with square footage?
• Does the crew log moisture readings every day, and do you get a copy?
• Which dehumidifier and air mover models will run, and how many of each?
• Is the Michigan builder license number on the paperwork, and does it check out with LARA?
• Who does the rebuild, and is it priced apart from the mitigation?

Prime writes its scope line by line, logs moisture every day, shares the log and prices the rebuild apart from mitigation. The builder license is 262500492. The daily log also shows your adjuster that drying reached its goal.

How soon can I use the basement again?

Pumping takes hours. Drying takes three to five days, with demolition of wet drywall and pad in the first two. Rebuild adds one to three weeks, based on finishes and inspections. A concrete-only basement can be back in service inside a week.

What does a Prime crew bring to a Macomb County basement flood?

Prime is a family water damage restoration business since 1988. Headquarters sit at 13854 Lakeside Circle in Sterling Heights, and additional offices in Macomb and Shelby Township put a truck on site in 25 minutes in Warren, Clinton Township, Fraser, Chesterfield Township and Harrison Township. IICRC-trained technicians pump, set Dri-Eaz LGR 7000XLi dehumidifiers and Velo Pro air movers, and log moisture every day. The written scope goes into Xactimate line by line so your adjuster can follow it. Prime holds 5.0 stars across 186 Google reviews.

Related Macomb County pages

• Basement flooding in Macomb County
• Water damage restoration cost in Macomb County
• Basement flood cleanup cost in Oakland County
• Macomb County service area

Call Prime Restoration at (586) 277-1069 any hour. A crew is on site in 25 minutes anywhere in Macomb County.