Camp Hill is the hill part of the job. On a north-south line through the borough, the ground climbs to 449 feet near the middle and falls to 315 feet at a creek floodplain on the north side. That is 134 feet in about 0.7 mile, and every foot of it matters to a basement.
The borough sits 3 miles southwest of downtown Harrisburg and about 5 miles east of Mechanicsburg. It covers 2.1 square miles and had 8,130 residents in 2020. For an active leak, call (223) 245-0005.
Water damage restoration, emergency extraction and hillside basement cleanup in Camp Hill, PA
Why downhill Camp Hill basements take water and the ones on the ridge often stay dry
We took USGS ground elevations every 0.35 mile along a north-south line through the borough and read the USDA soil map at each point.
The hill in Camp Hill: 134 feet of fall from the ridge to the creek floodplain
Elevation profile along a north-south line through Camp Hill. The ridge near the borough center is 449 feet. Elevation falls to 315 feet at a creek floodplain on the north side, a drop of 134 feet in about 0.7 mile. Soil map units along the line: Hagerstown, Huntington, Duffield, Berks and Atkins silt loams.
Sources: USGS National Map elevation point service; USDA NRCS Soil Data Access, Cumberland County soil survey. The line follows longitude 76.9274 west. Soil symbols: Ub urban land, HaC and HaB Hagerstown, HuA Huntington, DuB and DuA Duffield, BeC and BeD Berks, Aw Atkins, MnB Monongahela.
Rain on the ridge runs downhill, and water that soaks in follows the same direction underground. A basement on the low side catches both. One on the crest catches less.
The soil changes as the ground drops. Of 25 sample points across the borough, 12 were shale-derived soils such as Berks and Bedington, 7 were limestone-derived Hagerstown or Duffield, 3 were urban land, and 3 were wetter soils. Berks silt loam has bedrock as shallow as 91 centimeters, about 3 feet. The very shaly Weikert and Klinesville soils on the steepest ground go down only 43 centimeters, about 1.4 feet. A basement dug into either is likely to meet rock.
Two mapped soils are wetter. Blairton silt loam is somewhat poorly drained, with a water table as shallow as about 21 inches. Huntington silt loam is mapped for occasional flooding. If your house is on one of those, standing water after a storm is no surprise. See basement flooding cleanup.
Water still spreading? Do not wait for it to stop on its own.
Call (223) 245-0005Yellow Breeches Creek near Camp Hill: 78 recorded floods and an 18.77-foot crest in 1975
The National Weather Service gauge on the Yellow Breeches Creek near Camp Hill sits about 2 miles east-southeast of the center of the borough. It drains 216 square miles. Flood stage is 7 feet. NWS lists 78 floods since 1910, and the highest are below.
| Date | Crest | What NWS lists as the cause |
|---|---|---|
| September 26, 1975 | 18.77 ft | Remnants of Hurricane Eloise with a cold front |
| June 22, 1972 | 18.33 ft | Hurricane Agnes |
| April 17, 2011 | 14.57 ft | Strong cyclone and cold front, 4 to over 5 inches of rain |
| October 9, 1976 | 11.66 ft | Slow-moving low pressure system, 2 to 5 inches |
| October 12, 2013 | 11.64 ft | Stationary coastal low funneling heavy rain into southern Pennsylvania |
The USGS peak record on the same gauge adds two later crests above 10 feet: 10.54 feet on September 2, 2021, and 10.45 feet on August 9, 2024. The floodplain soil at the low point of our line, Atkins silt loam, is mapped for frequent flooding and a water table about 6 inches down. See storm and flood damage restoration.
Who supplies Camp Hill's water, how hard the creek water is and what we could not confirm
Directory listings name Pennsylvania American Water, the borough and Capital Region Water for Camp Hill, and they disagree. We could not read a utility report that settles it, so we do not name one. Your water bill does. Hardness in tap water is in the utility's annual water quality report.
How hard the water is in the creeks around Camp Hill, and why your tap may differ
Bar chart of median water hardness as mg/L calcium carbonate from USGS samples. Yellow Breeches Creek near Camp Hill 100, range 47 to 148, moderately hard. Conodoguinet Creek at Hogestown 176, range 89 to 240, hard. Tap water hardness depends on the utility, and its water quality report gives the value.
Sources: USGS water-quality samples via the Water Quality Portal, hardness as calcium carbonate; hardness classes follow the USGS scale. Creek samples are not tap water.
What we can verify is the creek water. USGS samples from the Yellow Breeches near Camp Hill have a median hardness of 100 mg/L, moderately hard. Samples from the Conodoguinet at Hogestown have a median of 176 mg/L, hard.
Eighty-nine percent of Camp Hill homes were built before 1970, and the 1950s and 1960s dominate
| Built | Homes | Share of 3,602 |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 962 | 26.7% |
| 1940s | 597 | 16.6% |
| 1950s | 789 | 21.9% |
| 1960s | 859 | 23.8% |
| 1970s | 141 | 3.9% |
| 1980 or later | 254 | 7.1% |
Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25034, Camp Hill borough. About 46 percent of homes date from the 1950s and 1960s, so original plumbing and water heaters are past sixty years old. See frozen and burst pipe cleanup for what winter does to those lines.
A hill that named the borough, and a skirmish on June 30, 1863
Camp Hill went by Hendricks, Fort Pleasant, Oysters Point, Bowmanstown and White Hall before 1869, when Dr. John D. Bowman, the first postmaster, gave it its present name. The name is believed to come from a split in the congregation of the Peace Church, when one faction led by John Winebrenner began meeting outdoors on a hill. It was incorporated on November 10, 1885, from East Pennsboro Township.
On June 30, 1863, the Skirmish of Sporting Hill took place across what is now Camp Hill, East Pennsboro and Hampden Township. It is known as the northernmost engagement of Lee's army in the Gettysburg campaign. The Peace Church, a 1798 limestone building at the northwest corner of Trindle and St. John's Roads, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972. Penn State Holy Spirit, a 240-bed hospital, is also in the borough.
Getting to Camp Hill from Mechanicsburg
Camp Hill is about 5 miles east of Mechanicsburg in a straight line. Lemoyne is to the east and East Pennsboro Township to the north. U.S. Routes 11 and 15 run through its western and northern sides, and Route 581, the Capital Beltway, runs along the south, meeting 11 and 15 at exits 5A and 5B. Trindle Road, Route 641, ends at 11 and 15 in Camp Hill.
We also work in Shiremanstown and Carlisle.
How much does water damage restoration cost in Camp Hill, PA, and what moves the price?
These are published U.S. ranges, not a Mechanicsburg Reco quote and not a Harrisburg-area price list. We quote after we see the job.
| Service | Typical estimate | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Water damage restoration | $3,250 (U.S. average) | $1,270 to $5,376 per job; about $3 to $7.50 per sq ft |
| Emergency water extraction | about $3,000 | $1,200 to $6,000 for pump-out, extraction and dehumidification |
| Basement flooding cleanup | about $2,000 for 400 sq ft of clean water | $4 to $12 per sq ft; $1,600 to $4,800+ for 400 sq ft |
| Storm and flood damage (creek water) | about $7.50 per sq ft (black water) | $7 to $7.50 per sq ft, before drywall and floors |
| Structural drying and dehumidification | about $300 per day of equipment | $200 to $400 per day, usually 2 to 5 days: $400 to $2,000 |
| Mold removal | about $3,000 | $500 to $6,000, more when walls must open |
Sources: Angi, HomeAdvisor, HomeGuide and LawnStarter cost guides (2025-2026) and restoration company price guides. Estimates are published averages or the midpoint of a range.
What moves the price
- Water category. Clean, gray and black water are priced differently: Angi puts them at about $3 to $4, $4 to $6.50 and $7 to $7.50 per square foot.
- Area and depth. More square feet and deeper water mean more extraction and more drying.
- Time since the loss. Water that sits wets more material and can move up a category.
- Materials. Carpet, drywall, hardwood and plaster dry or fail differently. HomeAdvisor puts gray-water hardwood damage at about $10 to $15 per square foot.
- Finished or unfinished space. Finished basements cost more to clean and dry.
- Drying days. Equipment is billed per day, so dense materials cost more.
- Rebuilding. It is separate. Angi puts drywall replacement at about $1.50 to $3 per square foot.
- Slope and shallow rock. hillside seepage and shale soil can keep walls wet longer, and a wet basement left for days can add mold work.
Insurance may cover some or all of it. Your policy decides, and we provide the documentation.
Camp Hill questions about slope, creeks and old houses
Does water really run downhill into my basement if I live on the slope?
It follows the slope on the surface and underground, so a low-side basement catches more. Downspouts, grading and a working sump matter more than the hill itself.
Is my Camp Hill house in the Yellow Breeches flood zone?
Your address on the FEMA map decides, not the borough name. Standard homeowners policies generally exclude flood, so check yours.
If the soil map says well drained, why does my basement still leak?
Well drained means water moves through the soil, not that it never reaches a foundation. On shallow shale, water can run along the rock into a basement cut into the hill.
How hard is the tap water in Camp Hill?
We could not confirm it, because we could not read a utility report for the borough. The creek samples show moderate to hard water. Ask your utility for its water quality report for the exact number.
