Water Damage in Lyons: What We Actually See Here

Lyons sits in a spot that no other town in Boulder County shares: right at the confluence, where the North St. Vrain and South St. Vrain creeks come out of two separate canyons and meet in the middle of a town of about 2,200 people. That geography is why the sandstone quarries are here, why the town is called the Double Gateway to the Rockies, and why September 2013 hit Lyons harder than almost anywhere on the Front Range. The town was cut off entirely, largely evacuated, and left without running water for weeks. Around 75 homes were destroyed or damaged, and 43 mobile homes at Riverbend and Foothills parks were washed out — many of those residents never made it back.

The housing is old and stubborn. The Lyons Historic District is built of local sandstone, and plenty of homes around it date to the quarry era, with stone foundations, shallow crawlspaces and additions layered on across a century. Water finds the mortar joint, the rubble stone, the gap where an old addition meets the original wall — and then it sits, because sandstone and plaster hold moisture long after the surface looks dry.

Add the mountain climate. Lyons homes freeze harder than homes down on the plains, and many properties around town are on well and septic, or have unheated outbuildings and workshops nobody checks in January. A cracked line in an unoccupied structure can run for days.

Living at the Confluence of Two Creeks

Most flood-prone towns worry about one channel. Lyons has two, both fed straight off the mountains, and the Confluence neighborhood between them was reshaped most severely in 2013 — homes there were still being rehabilitated years afterward. It is not a slow plains-river rise, it is a canyon flush arriving with mud, sand and rock. Even a modest high-water event pushes silty water into crawlspaces, and that sediment has to come out or it holds moisture and odor under the floor indefinitely.

Old Sandstone Homes and Slow, Hidden Moisture

The call we take most often here is not dramatic: a slow leak in an older home where moisture wicks into stone, timber and plaster and finally shows as a ceiling stain or a musty back bedroom. By then the wet area is usually far larger than it looks. We meter it, map it, and dry it with equipment sized for masonry rather than drywall — pulling water out of stone takes more patience than a modern build.

How Fast We Can Reach Lyons

We work out of 3787 Ronald Reagan Blvd, Unit 1, in Johnstown — roughly 30 miles from Lyons, generally down I-25 and west through Longmont on Highway 66. Barring canyon weather that is usually about an hour, and we take emergency calls 24/7, including nights and holidays.

Frequently Asked Questions About Water Damage in Lyons

Is my Lyons home still at risk after all the post-2013 creek work?

The channel work has genuinely improved how the St. Vrain moves through town, but Lyons still sits where two canyon creeks meet, and canyon flooding arrives fast. For most homeowners the bigger everyday risk is a frozen or failed line. Know your main shutoff, and check outbuildings during cold snaps.

Why is muddy flood water treated differently than a burst pipe?

Creek water carries silt, bacteria and whatever it picked up upstream, so it is handled as contaminated. Porous materials it touched — carpet, pad, insulation, lower drywall — come out rather than get dried in place, and the silt has to be physically removed from crawlspaces before drying. Skip that step and you get odor and mold under the floor months later.

Can you dry out an old sandstone or stone-foundation home properly?

Yes, and it takes longer than a modern house. Stone, mortar and old plaster absorb and release water slowly, so surface readings lie. We use moisture meters and thermal imaging to find the true extent, then set dehumidification and airflow for the material we are actually drying. Rushing an old Lyons home is how you end up with trapped moisture behind a repaired wall.

Should I call my insurance company first?

Call Revive before you call your insurer. We will get on site, stop the source, and document the damage with photos and moisture readings before anything is torn out or dried. That record is what supports your claim properly. We work with all insurance carriers and can talk to your adjuster directly once the facts are on paper.

What about homes on well and septic outside town?

Plenty of properties around Lyons are on well and septic, and both add wrinkles. A septic backup is a Category 3 loss requiring containment and disinfection, not just extraction. If a pressure tank or well line fails in an unheated space, the leak can run unnoticed for days.

Revive is family operated and locally owned by Levi, born and raised in Northern Colorado and serving these foothill towns since 2016. If you have water where it should not be, call (720) 340-3499 for a free inspection any time, day or night. See the full list of towns we cover on our service areas page, including neighboring Longmont, Loveland and Berthoud, or learn more about our water damage restoration services.