Area guideBrightwaters
Water Damage Restoration Help in Brightwaters, NY
Connect with a local specialist now.
The village of Brightwaters · Town of Islip
Water in the basement, a burst pipe, or sewage backing up into the house? Call and we'll connect you with a local specialist who covers Brightwaters, even if you don't know the cause yet.
Water doesn't stay where it lands. It soaks into drywall, insulation and flooring, and mold can start within 24 to 48 hours.
- You call Tell us what you're seeing
- We connect you With a local specialist covering all of Brightwaters
- They arrange A visit with you
Since 1978, federal flood insurance has paid $4.3 million on 142 claims in ZIP 11718, which takes in Brightwaters, so water has reached homes here before.
Brightwaters at a glanceTap a figure to see it on the map
Flood risk: HighFlood zone. 34 of the 1,190 addresses here are inside FEMA's mapped flood zone. 85 more are within about 100 ft of its edge.
If your home is in it, most mortgage lenders must require flood insurance. That is a separate policy from homeowner's insurance, which usually covers a burst pipe or leaking appliance.
The percentage above counts all developed land, including lawns, parks and roads, not just homes.
Each square is about 300 ft across. Color shows how many of its addresses are mapped inside the zone:
- Fewer than half
- Half or more
- All
Groundwater. At 1,180 of the 1,190 addresses measured here, groundwater is within 14 ft of the surface, close enough to reach a basement floor.
In those basements, water can seep up through the floor and come back after pumping until the ground drains. The 10 measured deeper are the exception.
Each square is about 300 ft across. Color shows the typical depth under its addresses (USGS map, spring 2013):
- Within 10 ft947
- 10 to 14 ft233
- 14 to 25 ft10
Sewer. 1,175 of the 1,190 addresses in Brightwaters have a county sewer main mapped past them. That does not mean every house is connected.
Where a house is connected, a backup is a blocked line. A plumber clears the pipe to the street. The sewer district clears the main.
Each square is about 300 ft across. Color shows how many of its addresses have a mapped main:
- Half or more
- All
What is happening at your home?
Other water emergencies we cover
Not sure which one fits? Call (631) 440-4144 and tell us what you see.
Why water gets into Brightwaters homes
Water reaches Brightwaters homes from outside and from within. From outside, it is flooding. Inside the house, the risks are a blocked sewer line, water rising through the basement floor, pipes bursting in the cold and old plumbing leaking inside the walls.
- Water coming in from outside. Flood insurance covers only basics below ground level, such as the furnace, the water heater, the electrical panel and unfinished walls, not finished floors or belongings stored there. In Brightwaters, 7.5% of the built-up land is inside FEMA's flood zone, and homes there with a federally backed mortgage are required to carry flood insurance. Since 1978, policyholders in ZIP 11718 have filed 142 federal flood insurance claims, a record of flood water reaching buildings in this ZIP. Look up your street. Storm Damage Restoration help
- Sewage coming up a drain. Standard homeowners policies usually exclude sewage backup unless a water-backup endorsement was added, so check yours and photograph the damage before cleanup starts. Brightwaters is on public sewer, which means sewage in the house comes from a blocked house line or a street main pushing back, and either way the cleanup is the same: remove, disinfect, dry. Sewage Backup help in Brightwaters
- Water in the basement. Pumping the water out is only half the job: the basement has to be dried and the source handled, usually with a sump pump or sealing, or the water comes back. In Brightwaters, the water table is about 7 ft down, close enough to push water up through a basement floor, so a basement that has been pumped dry can fill again. Basement Flooding help in Brightwaters
- A burst pipe. Find the main shutoff before winter, because when a pipe bursts the first minutes decide how much of the house gets wet. In a hard freeze the pipes that split are the ones in outside walls and crawlspaces, and Brightwaters's houses, about 81 years old on average, have plenty of them. Frozen Pipe Burst help in Brightwaters
- A leak in a wall or ceiling. A leak caught early is a drying job; one that has run for weeks inside a wall is a mold job, so have it opened up and dried properly. About 85% of Brightwaters's homes were built before 1970, and pipes from that era, galvanized steel and cast iron, corrode from the inside until a joint or a section gives way. Ceiling & Roof Leak Water Damage help
Insurance and safety guidance from FEMA FloodSmart, the CDC and the Red Cross. How we measured the figures.
Street by street in Brightwaters
See how many of its addresses are mapped inside the FEMA flood zone, how deep groundwater is mapped under it, and whether a sewer main is mapped past it.
38 streets, from county address records. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Streets inside the FEMA flood zone
34 of 1,190 address points in Brightwaters are mapped inside a FEMA special flood hazard area. These streets hold the most of them:
- Concourse W — 17 of 36 addresses
- S Bay Ave — 8 of 59 addresses
- S Windsor Ave — 5 of 58 addresses
Streets with a mapped sewer main
County records map an active sewer main past 1,175 of 1,190 address points in Brightwaters. On 32 streets nearly every address has one; the largest:
- N Windsor Ave — 69 addresses
- Pine Acres Blvd — 69 addresses
- Ackerson Blvd — 67 addresses
- Peters Blvd — 66 addresses
- Potter Blvd — 60 addresses
- S Bay Ave — 59 addresses
- S Windsor Ave — 58 addresses
- Richland Blvd — 53 addresses
Quick facts — Brightwaters
Flood and storm
- FEMA flood zone
- AE (100-yr floodplain)
- Hurricane Sandy high-water mark
- 6.0 ft The one mark USGS surveyed in Brightwaters after the 2012 storm, in feet above the NAVD88 datum — a reading at one point, not a level across all of Brightwaters. Ground elevation here averages 19 ft on the same datum.
- Water nearby
- Great South Bay to the south-east and Cascades Lake to the south. Each direction is to its nearest point, from the center of Brightwaters.
Brightwaters's land area
- FEMA coastal wave zone (VE)
- FEMA 100-year floodplain (A, AE)
- The flood-zone figure above says how much of the land these zones cover.
Homes here
- Sewer status
- Sewered
- Home heating fuel
- 25% fuel oil Utility gas heats 69% of occupied homes in Brightwaters. Census estimates; the oil figure is within 6 points. An oil tank can float or tip in a flood and spill. That is a separate cleanup from the water (NYS DEC). In a cold snap, an empty tank means no heat.
- When homes were built
- Before 1940 45% of Brightwaters's homes were built before 1940, more than in any other decade band. Census estimate, within 7 points. Homes from before 1940 are more than 85 years old. Past 30 years, an insurance-industry study (IBHS) found supply and drain pipe problems three times as likely.
In an emergency
- Nearest fire department
- Bay Shore Fire Department
- Nearest emergency shelter
- West Middle SchoolNot every shelter opens for every storm, and the nearest may stay closed. Suffolk County announces which ones open; follow its alerts and local news before you go.
- ZIP code
- 11718
Sources: FEMA NFHL / NOAA SLOSH, US Census ACS, USDA SSURGO, Suffolk County records. Verified 2026-10-18. How we measured this.
Brightwaters and nearby areas
1 of the other 3 areas compared here has a larger mapped floodplain share than Brightwaters.
- Bay Shore 7.6%
- Brightwaters 7.5%
- West Bay Shore 3.8%
- North Bay Shore 0.0%
Share of developed area inside FEMA's mapped floodplain, largest first.
Brightwaters has the shallowest average groundwater of the 4 areas compared here.
- Brightwaters 7 ft
- West Bay Shore 8 ft
- Bay Shore 12 ft
- North Bay Shore 25 ft
Average depth to groundwater, shallowest first.
1 of the other 3 areas compared here has lower average ground than Brightwaters.
- West Bay Shore 18 ft
- Brightwaters 19 ft
- Bay Shore 31 ft
- North Bay Shore 62 ft
Average height above sea level, lowest first.
Brightwaters measures 100% on sewer coverage, where its 3 neighbors average 65%. Brightwaters is more sewered than the areas around it. It stands apart on pre-1970 housing share too: 85% here against 60% across the same neighbors. Brightwaters's housing stock is older than that of the areas around it.
Compared with the areas around Brightwaters. How we measured them.
Frequently asked questions about Brightwaters
Is Brightwaters in a flood zone?
Brightwaters's FEMA-mapped flood zone is AE (100-yr floodplain), covering about 7.5% of the developed area, per FEMA's flood map (NFHL).
Does Brightwaters have public sewer, or cesspools?
Brightwaters is on public sewer — about 100% of developed land sits inside an active sewer district, so backups here usually trace to the municipal main or your lateral.
How deep is the water table in Brightwaters?
The measured water table runs about 7 ft below the surface on average across Brightwaters. It is mapped within 10 ft at 947 of 1,190 addresses and within 25 ft at all of them.
How old are homes in Brightwaters?
The average home in Brightwaters is about 81 years old, and 85% of the housing stock predates 1970 — older plumbing and unwaterproofed foundations are a common factor in local water damage.
About the figures for Brightwaters
Check them at the source
Who to call for water damage in Brightwaters
(631) 440-4144Tell us what is happening. We connect you with a local specialist who covers Brightwaters.