Water damage restoration in North Little Rock
Same river, different utilities. North Little Rock runs its own sewer system and its own floodgates, and the river reaches its low neighborhoods before it reaches most of Little Rock.
A referral service, not a contractor. Your callback request is passed to an independent restoration company that works your part of central Arkansas. Riverstage does not perform the extraction, drying or repairs.
North Little Rock numbers
| For | Who | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer backup, overflowing manhole | North Little Rock Wastewater, 7400 Baucum Pike | 501-945-7186 |
| Water main or meter leak | Central Arkansas Water emergency line | 501-377-1239 |
| Permits and inspections for repairs | NLR Planning Department permit desk | 501-975-8835 |
| Exterior work in the Argenta historic district | North Little Rock Historic District Commission | 501-371-0755 |
| Gas smell (after leaving and calling 911) | Summit Utilities | 800-992-7552 |
Drinking water comes from Central Arkansas Water: the North Little Rock Water Department merged with Little Rock Municipal Water Works into CAW on July 1, 2001. Sewer stayed separate, and North Little Rock Wastewater now also serves Maumelle and parts of Sherwood.
How the river reaches North Little Rock
The National Weather Service's notes for the Little Rock gauge list North Little Rock places at almost every stage:
- 18 feet: parts of Burns Park, Cooks Landing and the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River Trail go under.
- 21 feet: the city must close its sewer system floodgates so the river cannot back up into the sewers.
- 25 feet: areas near the White Oak and Shillcutt bayous may be affected; lower Burns Park floods from backwater.
- 29 feet: the Baring Cross, Dixie and Eastgate areas are affected.
That 21-foot line matters for houses far from the riverbank. High river water also squeezes local drainage. Across the river during the 2019 flood, Little Rock's public works director warned that underground drainage was at capacity, leaving no room for rain runoff.
The coldest February on the books
NWS Little Rock's records for North Little Rock begin in late 1975. On February 16, 2021, the low there was −1°F, the coldest February temperature on record and the coldest reading of any kind since December 23, 1989. The month brought 18.7 inches of snow, including 9.0 inches on February 15, and the snow was 14 inches deep on February 18, the deepest on record there.
Whether a house is in Park Hill, Lakewood or Argenta, the pipes in outside walls, garages and crawl spaces are the ones that cold like that reaches first. The pipes page covers thawing and what to do when one splits.
The tornado's second half
After crossing the river on March 31, 2023, the EF3 tornado uprooted or snapped hundreds, if not thousands, of trees in Burns Park, according to the NWS survey. It crossed I-40 just west of exit 150, passed over ball fields west of Military Drive and damaged a new fire station under construction there. In Amboy it badly damaged homes and businesses near MacArthur and Military drives, then crossed Remount Road toward Sherwood's Lee Avenue and Kiehl Avenue neighborhoods. Most of the damage in those areas was severe roof damage and fallen trees.
Trees on roofs and torn shingles let rain straight into attics. The storm page explains the order of work once a roof is opened.
Repairs in Argenta and other permits
Drying out a house usually needs no permit. Rebuilding often does. North Little Rock's residential construction guide says permit fees start at a minimum of $30 and are mostly based on the value of the work, and asks people to call the permit desk at 501-975-8835 with the project value first. Inside the Argenta historic district, exterior changes also need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission before work starts.
Ask any restoration company whether its estimate includes rebuild work and who will pull the permit. The national price ranges shows typical national ranges, and the sewer backup page covers what to do when North Little Rock Wastewater's side is not the problem.