Savage began in 1852 as a trading post and river port where the Credit River meets the Minnesota, was called Hamilton until 1904, and then took the name of Marion Savage, the man who owned the racehorse Dan Patch. It had fewer than 200 people in 1900 and about 32,500 in 2020, with nearly all of its housing built from the 1980s onward on the bluffs south of Highway 13. The city sits at about 889 feet at the river and climbs quickly from there.
The river is the story here. In March 2019 the Minnesota River at Savage passed major flood stage at 712 feet and was projected toward 713, still six feet under the April 1965 record of 719.4. The houses on the bluff stayed dry; the roads and the low ground did not.
This site puts Savage homeowners through by phone to an independent local water damage provider. The provider meters the house before the scope is written.
A 1990s walkout on the bluff whose lower level took water along the downhill wall during the thaw is a basement flooding cleanup. A pump that lost power in a summer storm is a sump pump failure cleanup. A lower level that sweats through July with nothing leaking is a meter check, then often a dehumidifier installation.
The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District covers the valley from Carver down to the confluence at Fort Snelling, including the flats along Highway 13 in Savage, and it is the agency that tracks the river's stage in spring. Savage is Scott County, so rebuild permits go through the city's own inspections desk, not Dakota County's.
Call (651) 433-7589 and say which level is wet. An independent local water damage provider serving Savage takes the call.
Water pumped out of a finished lower level or walkout basement, then carpet pad, drywall, and framing metered to see what stayed wet.
Cleanup after the pump lost power in a storm or could not keep up with a spring thaw, and drying of the floor and walls the pit overflow reached.
Standing water pulled off carpet, tile, and concrete on any level of the house, followed by the first moisture readings.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run by daily readings until subfloor, studs, and drywall reach their dry target in a cold or humid house.
Cleanup after a supply line froze in a garage wall, rim joist, or unheated corner and split, then drying of what the thaw soaked.
Wet attic insulation, ceilings, and exterior walls dried after an ice dam, a hail-torn roof, or a summer storm let water inside.
A failed hose or drain on the lower level, the laundry room floor, and the family room carpet next to it pumped out and dried.
A sized dehumidifier set up for a below-grade level that stays damp through a Minnesota summer or after a drying job wraps up.