Water Damage Restoration in Calhan

Updated November 12, 2026

Calhan calls itself the highest non-mountain town in the country, sitting about 6,535 feet up on open prairie along US-24 in eastern El Paso County. It started in 1888 as a water stop for the Rock Island railroad. Today it is a small town of under 800 people, with ranches and acreage spread out in every direction and the county fair held there each summer. Out here, the sky and the ground both cause water damage, just in different ways.

The weather out east

There is very little to slow a storm down on the plains. Summer thunderstorms build over the foothills to the west and roll east, often dropping hail as they go. Wind can drive rain sideways under siding and through gaps around windows. In winter, the same wind pushes cold air into crawlspaces, garages and any wall cavity that is not sealed.

What that means for a typical Calhan house:

• Hail damage to shingles, skylights, roof vents and gutters. The leak may not show for days or weeks, until a ceiling stain appears. Read hail damage and ceiling stains for what to look for.
• Wind-driven rain that gets past old windows and door seals and soaks subfloors.
• Frozen pipes where wind chill reaches lines in exterior walls, crawlspaces and well houses.
• Snow drifts that pile against a wall, then melt in and around the foundation.

If hail punctured the roof or broke a window, cover it as soon as the storm passes. Plastic sheeting, a tarp or plywood will do. See roof leak water damage for what a crew handles after.

Town water or your own well

Calhan's town system pulls water from deep wells in the Laramie, Fox Hills and Arapahoe aquifers, and the town runs its own wastewater plant. If you live in town on that system, your shutoff and meter work the way they do anywhere. The town's side ends at the meter.

Properties out on acreage are a different setup. They usually rely on a private well, a pressure tank, and a septic system. When something breaks:

On a private well

• Turn off the breaker to the well pump. That is your main shutoff.
• Check the pressure tank and the lines near it. A split fitting at the tank is a common freeze failure.
• Well houses and pits need heat in winter. A small heater or heat lamp on a thermostat, plus insulation, prevents most freeze damage.

On septic

• If drains are slow and sewage comes up a floor drain or tub, stop using water.
• Call a septic service to pump and inspect.
• Do not wash sewage residue down the drain.
• Treat everything it touched as contaminated. See sewage cleanup.

The houses

Housing around Calhan runs from older homes in the original town blocks near the old rail line to newer houses on acreage. Older homes may have galvanized pipes, aging water heaters and crawlspaces rather than basements. Newer builds are more likely to have basements and PEX plumbing.

If you live in a manufactured home, the plumbing runs under the floor behind the skirting, where wind reaches it easily. Damaged or missing skirting is a big freeze risk, so patch any gaps before winter.

Long drives and empty houses

Ranch properties and second homes out east can go days without anyone walking through. A pipe that splits on a Friday night in a house nobody checks until Monday has had plenty of time to soak floors and walls. If you are away during a cold stretch, keep the heat on, shut the main or the well breaker, and have a neighbor look in. A simple water sensor near the water heater and under sinks will text you when it gets wet.

First things to do

1. Stop the water: main valve, fixture shutoff, or well pump breaker.
2. Cut power to wet areas at the panel.
3. Photograph everything before cleanup.
4. Get rugs, boxes and furniture out of the water.
5. Cover roof or window openings if storm damage let water in.
6. Call your insurer and a restoration crew.

What drives the cost

The company that inspects writes up the real figure before any work starts. Clean-water jobs often dry in three to five days.

Insurance, broadly

Sudden water damage from inside the home, like a burst pipe, is often covered by homeowners policies. Slow leaks and groundwater generally are not. Sewage or septic backup usually needs an endorsement. Hail and wind claims commonly carry their own, higher deductible in Colorado. Read does homeowners insurance cover water damage in Colorado for more.

Neighbors to the west

Crews that cover Calhan also work Falcon and Black Forest to the west. For frozen pipe repairs, start with burst pipe cleanup.

Sources and official resources

• Contractor license lookup (Pikes Peak Regional Building Department)
• Homeowners insurance help (Colorado Division of Insurance)
• Colorado Springs weather warnings (National Weather Service, Pueblo)
• IICRC: restoration industry standards body