Norridge plumbing at a glance
One ZIP, shared
Norridge uses ZIP 60706, which it shares with neighboring Harwood Heights. Both fall in our dispatch zone.
Storm and freeze calls
Emergency dispatch runs around the clock, which matters when a spring storm or a January cold snap hits many homes at once.
Small and built out
The village covers about 1.8 square miles of mostly older homes, with Cook County forest preserves on its west side.
Chicago water
Norridge buys all of its drinking water from the City of Chicago, according to the village.
When Norridge basements flood
Most flooding here follows the same pattern: a thunderstorm drops several inches of rain in a short window, the sump pit fills, and the pump either keeps up or does not. The Cook County hazard plan annex for Norridge lists 4.25 inches of rain on July 22, 2011 and 4.8 inches on April 18, 2013, both with street and basement flooding. April 2013 was a federal disaster declaration.
The same annex says precipitation in the Chicago area peaks in May and June, and that heavy fall thunderstorms can also flood. A pump that works in March can still fail in June, so watch the pit during the first big storm of the season.
Before we arrive: if you have a burst pipe or active leak
If a pipe has let go, close the main valve inside the house, then open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain what is left. Do not touch the shutoff in the parkway, called a buffalo box, because the village's own permit form warns that tampering with it can lead to arrest and prosecution.
If the basement is taking on storm water instead, stay out of it once water reaches outlets or the furnace.
- Close the main valve inside the house.
- Leave the parkway buffalo box alone.
- Stay out of a flooded basement if water is near outlets, the panel or the furnace.
- Unplug the sump pump only if the cord is dry and out of the water.
- Move small valuables upstairs and set out buckets for ceiling drips.
- Call our 24/7 line and tell dispatch what you shut off.
Winter in Norridge: cold snaps and frozen lines
The annex describes temperatures that often stay below freezing for days or weeks in January and February, and a January 2014 storm that dropped 13.8 inches of snow. A pipe in an outside wall, a crawl space or an unheated garage is the first to freeze.
When a frozen pipe splits, the water often does not show until it thaws. If one tap runs weak in a hard freeze, shut the main and call, because burst pipe repair costs far less than the flooded room that follows a thaw.
Repair the pump or replace it?
Repair
- Fits a stuck float, a clogged intake or a failed check valve.
- Quicker and keeps the existing pit.
- Leaves an old motor in service.
Replace
- Fits a pump that has run constantly for years.
- Better before storm season than during it.
- Costs more up front than a part swap.
Cold snap, no water at the tap?
Tell dispatch which pipes are on outside walls and where you hear or see water. That decides where we look first.
Where the water goes after the pump
A pump only moves water, so the discharge matters. The village's sanitary sewer permit sheet says storm water may not enter the sanitary sewer and downspouts may not connect to it, so ask the Building Department where a sump discharge may go before changing the piping.
If the pit overflows while the pump runs, the pipe may be undersized. The check valve may be stuck, or the ground may be saturated. Sump pump repair looks at each, and basement waterproofing is the longer answer when seepage keeps coming through the walls.
What drives the price of a storm or freeze call
A swapped float switch and a split pipe behind a wall are very different jobs, even if both begin with water on the floor. For your real number, call our 24/7 line.
Most homeowner policies cover sudden burst-pipe water damage but not the worn pipe itself, and sump pump failure or sewer backup usually needs a separate endorsement. Check your policy before the storm season rather than after the first flood.
A spring and fall check that prevents most calls
Do these before the wet months and again before the first hard freeze.
- Pour a bucket of water into the sump pit and watch the pump start, run and shut off.
- Check that the discharge pipe runs well away from the foundation and is not frozen or blocked.
- Confirm the check valve clicks shut when the pump stops.
- Find the main shutoff valve and turn it once so it is not stuck.
- Disconnect outdoor hoses before the first freeze.
Norridge note: a small village with older homes
Norridge is a village in Cook County, incorporated in 1948 and made a home rule community by referendum in 1973, with a 2020 Census count of 15,251 and 82.4 percent owner occupancy. The hazard annex describes it as land-locked and nearly fully developed, with older homes, many without air conditioning. Chicago lies north and south, Harwood Heights is to the east, and forest preserves run along the west, with O'Hare about a mile north.
The annex says parts of the village were natural creek areas before development, particularly along Oketo and Octavia Avenues, and lists drainage projects near the Eisenhower Public Library. The Building Department at 4000 North Olcott Avenue issues plumbing permits under the Illinois Plumbing Code and requires rough and final inspections.
Beyond the village line
The same 24/7 line sends crews for sump pump repair and burst pipe repair to nearby ZIPs such as 60634, 60631 and 60656 in Chicago, 60171 in River Grove, 60707 in Elmwood Park and 60176 in Schiller Park. Harwood Heights shares Norridge's 60706 and is covered the same way.
If you own a building in Niles or Des Plaines as well, one call reaches dispatch for all of them.
Frequently asked questions
Norridge has one ZIP, 60706, and we cover it. The code is shared with Harwood Heights next door, so an address with that ZIP could be in either village. That covers the Village Hall and Building Department on North Olcott Avenue, the stretch between Montrose and Lawrence Avenues, and the blocks out to Dee Road on the west.
Yes. Dispatch runs 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays. Call, describe the problem, and you get shutoff steps right away while a plumber is assigned. Same-day appointments are available when the problem is not an emergency.
The village's sanitary sewer permit sheet says storm water may not enter the sanitary sewer and downspouts may not connect to it. Ask the Building Department before rerouting a discharge line, and tell us what the pipe does now so we can match it.
No. The village's plumbing permit form warns that tampering with it can lead to arrest. Use the main valve inside the house. In Park Ridge the city owns the line up to and including the box, but that is a Park Ridge rule, so ask the Norridge water department who owns what at your address.
The Building Department's application asks for a rough inspection before work is covered and a final inspection before the permit expires, with 24 hours of notice. Permit rules vary by job, so we confirm with the department before work starts.