Palm Beach County
The Glades towns sit along the south and east shores of Lake Okeechobee, spread across three counties and a lot of farmland. Storm rain, older houses and a high share of manufactured homes are the main water damage concerns.
ZIP codes in the area
Some of these ZIP codes also include neighboring communities.
This page covers the communities around the southern end of Lake Okeechobee. They share the lake and the farmland around it, but not a county:
Belle Glade, South Bay, Clewiston and Moore Haven line up along U.S. 27. Pahokee and Canal Point are to the north along the lake’s east shore, reached by U.S. 98/441 and State Roads 715 and 15.
In September 1928, a hurricane’s winds piled lake water against the south shore until it topped the levee. The National Weather Service describes water several feet deep spreading over an area about 6 miles deep and 75 miles long, with catastrophic flooding in Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and Canal Point. Two years earlier, lake flooding in the 1926 hurricane killed more than 100 people in Moore Haven.
The Herbert Hoover Dike, a 143-mile earthen dam around the lake, grew out of those storms. The Army Corps of Engineers began rehabilitating it in 2005 and completed the work in January 2023, adding 56.2 miles of seepage barrier wall and replacing 28 water control structures. The Weather Service has also noted that the dike has not been tested by a direct Category 4 or 5 hurricane.
For a homeowner, the practical point is that lake flooding is only one way water gets in. Heavy tropical rain, storm damage to roofs and windows, and plumbing failures cause water damage with the dike doing its job. When outside water enters a home, flood cleanup follows different rules than a clean pipe leak, because the water carries soil and whatever else it crossed.
Census estimates put the median build year at about 1970 in Pahokee, 1974 in South Bay, 1978 in Clewiston and 1979 in Belle Glade. Moore Haven is newer, with a median around 1993, but about 44 percent of its homes are manufactured homes.
Manufactured homes bring their own leak patterns. Supply and drain lines run beneath the floor, so a slow leak can wet the subfloor and underbelly insulation long before a stain or soft spot appears inside. Roof seams and window frames are also common entry points during wind-driven rain.
In Belle Glade, most households rent and a quarter of homes are in buildings with five or more units. When a leak starts in a rental, tell the landlord or property manager right away, then see the emergency water removal steps for what to do while waiting.
The ZIP codes for this page reach well beyond town limits. Belle Glade city takes up only a small part of the 33430 ZIP, which is mostly unincorporated farmland. The Canal Point ZIP, 33438, also includes a small piece of Pahokee. The Clewiston ZIP, 33440, spans more than 700 square miles and takes in Harlem, Montura, Pioneer and Lake Harbor, and most of the Moore Haven ZIP lies outside the city. Homes and businesses throughout these ZIP codes are covered by the same 24/7 line.
In the 1928 hurricane, wind pushed Lake Okeechobee over the levee at its south end and flooded Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and Canal Point. The Herbert Hoover Dike now rings the lake, and the Army Corps of Engineers finished a major rehabilitation of it in January 2023.
About 44 percent of homes in Moore Haven and about 24 percent in Pahokee are mobile or manufactured homes, according to Census estimates. Plumbing that runs under the floor can leak into the underbelly for a long time without showing inside.
Roughly half or more of the housing in Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and Clewiston was built before 1980. South Bay is highest at about 68 percent, and aging supply lines, water heaters and drains are frequent leak sources.
About 57 percent of Belle Glade households rent, and more than 40 percent of the city's homes are in duplexes or larger buildings. Water from one unit can easily reach the one next door or below.
Services
FAQ
Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay are cities in Palm Beach County, and Canal Point is an unincorporated community in the same county. Clewiston is in Hendry County, and Moore Haven is the county seat of Glades County. All of them are served from this page.
Yes, a lot more. The 33440 ZIP spans more than 700 square miles and includes the Hendry County communities of Harlem, Montura and Pioneer, plus Lake Harbor in Palm Beach County. Homes anywhere in that ZIP are covered.
It could be. A slow leak from a supply or drain line can soak the subfloor and the insulation in the underbelly before anything shows on the surface. Shut off the water at the main valve and have the area checked with a moisture meter, since wet insulation under the home holds water for a long time.
The dike holds back the lake, but it does not stop rain from pooling around a house, wind-driven water from getting through a damaged roof, or a burst pipe from flooding a room. Those still cause water damage, and water that comes in from outside is cleaned as contaminated.
Call now
Shut off the water if you can reach the valve safely, then call. Describe where it came from and which rooms are wet.
When you call, have ready