Buda, Hays County
Water damage in Buda, Texas
Buda sits on Interstate 35 about 17 miles south of downtown Austin, in eastern Hays County. The Census Bureau counts 16,166 people there in 2025.
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What the City of Buda says
- Water meter and mains
The city owns and maintains the larger water mains that serve whole neighborhoods, and it owns and maintains the water meter at each building.
- Line to the house
Service lines from the meter to the building belong to the property owner. The water department does not own or maintain them.
- Leaks
Report leaks to the Water Department at (512) 312-2876. For after-hours leaks the city lists (512) 749-0478.
- Permits
Development Services handles permits at Buda City Hall, 405 E Loop St, Bldg 100, at (512) 312-5745 or permits@budatx.gov. Applications go through an online portal. The city's list of permit-required work includes foundation repairs and water softeners.
What the ownership split means
A leak in the line between the meter and your wall is yours to fix and pay for. A leak at or before the meter is the city's. Water damage inside the house is the same either way, and the contractor you reach through this line deals with that part.
Buda's history is tied to the railroad. The Texas State Historical Association says the town was formally established on 1 April 1881 around an International-Great Northern depot first called Du Pre.
Floodplain rules in Buda
Buda's floodplain regulations sit in subsection 4.06 of its Unified Development Code. They apply to the numbered and unnumbered A zones, AE, AO and AH zones on the Flood Insurance Rate Map and Flood Boundary and Floodway Map dated 17 January 2025, as amended.
In those zones the city allows no development without a Floodplain Development Permit. The city's list of regulated changes reaches beyond buildings. It includes filling, grading, paving, excavation and storing equipment or materials.
The city says you can look at floodplain maps through FEMA's Map Service Center, and that an official answer about whether a particular property sits in a floodplain comes from the City Engineer. Development Services at (512) 312-5745 is the number the city lists for permits.
Buda is in Hays County. For land outside city limits, the Hays County Floodplain Administrator in Kyle, 512-393-2150, is the contact named on the county's floodplain page.
Why the city regulates the floodplain
The city's page opens by citing the frequency and danger of flash flooding in Central Texas. It says the rules aim to restrict uses that are dangerous because of water or erosion, to require flood-vulnerable uses to be protected when first built, and to control filling, grading and dredging that could raise flood heights or speeds.
A further stated aim is to keep Buda eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program, which is the program that sells the separate flood policy home insurance leaves out. The page shows a photo of Onion Creek at RM 967 during the 31 October 2013 flood.
Water is still moving. Call now.
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