Innovative Water Solutions LLC

My interactions Chris Maxwell-Gaines began in 11/23 after we met for a consultation because I was experiencing flooding in my home, backyard, and side yard (as were my neighbors in the same building). After going back and forth for months I finally got a proposal/plan and paid them a deposit on 2/9/23. 4 MONTHS went by and I was sick of being ignored over and over again when I asked for an ETA. They lied, they said they would start work on my backyard while they did the side yard and alley behind my yard. The work on my yard never was scheduled yet did the parts the HOA paid for (which did not work by the way). I had to wait until 6/6/23 to get my money back. Keep in mind that during these 4 months I continued to suffer with active flooding issues in my home through the Spring rains. NEVER work with these people. They're unprofessional, unresponsive and a complete waste of time, money, and energy. I could have found help back in Feb 2023, but no, I am still dealing with flooding issues more than a year later .... Not to mention that the work they DID do for the HOA was pathetic. They supposedly guarantee their work but I continue to experience flooding after they put a "swale" along the side of my yard. I can't tell if it's even an inch or two deeper than what it was, it's negligible and it made no difference whatsoever. The concrete wall they built behind the yard does nothing for the water that falls into our yards. It took me so long to recover from this that I am writing my review months later.. I sincerely hope that businesses like these go out of business because of how poorly they treat their *paying* clients.

Very good quality of work. Responsive to our concerns and questions. Crew was friendly and helpful. Enjoyed working with them and hope to work with them again in the future.

I really appreciated how responsive IWS leadership was to any questions I had about the project, before, during and after the work was completed. The crew was also very professional, polite and respectful.

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Must be too busy to take on new work.

I found the folks very informed and helpful. They got a system that was limping along along up and running right and made it much more practical for use. They knew what was wrong with my system and how to fix it at the least cost to me. They ,ailed me replace,emt filters so I didn't have to pay for service calls and were always extremely responsive in emergency situations. I cannot praise them enough.

Chris came to my house a few months ago to help design a rainwater collection system. He said he would give me an estimate but it never came. A few months later, he emailed me and asked me if I still want the estimate. I said yes. So far the estimate still has not come... Waste my time.

I found out about Innovative Water Solutions through several green-building home tours, and they have installed some high-end projects in Austin. I contacted them to get information about installing a rainwater collection system, a graywater system and rain gutters. We said we might be interested in starting with a small rainwater system, such as a 600- to 1,000-gallon cistern plus gutters, and then sizing up with time. The person who answered the phone was not very knowledgeable, and sounded like he might just have been temporarily helping out. The company was a no-show for the first appointment, and late for the second. We did feel like the company had good products and lots of knowledge in rainwater collection, but the followup was terrible. We never received an estimate for the cost of the work, and when we later called (probably 2 or 3 times), our calls were not returned. We were told that they were understaffed at the time, but we also thought we were treated as if we were unimportant because we were not installing a big system. However, if the experience had gone well, we probably would have been repeat customers who would have added to our system over time. And even when contractors we hire do small jobs, if they're good jobs, the word-of-mouth results in more or bigger jobs through referrals to our friends. We don't feel that we can recommend Innovative Water Solutions.

It went very well. My call was returned very promptly (or he answered when I called, can't remember). Someone came out the next day (i called close to or after 5 pm) to take a look, and they tried to fix the pump first. But they couldn't, so a new pump was ordered and was in place by that evening. The guys came back the next day to check on the system and ensure there were not issues (without having to request it). I also received an email a week or so later asking how it was going. These guys are very responsive and really helped me out in a tight spot.

I felt like I had a constructive conversation on the phone when I first contact the company, and it seemed that their services were appropriate for my situation. However, at the site visit, they seemed only to be able to install gutters and the storage tanks, not to think about designing a system to meet the issues (including slope of the site, placement of the house very near the lot line, existing shade trees). We spent some time going over the property, discussing timing for the project, and that was the last I ever heard from them. It's fine if someone declines to make a proposal, but I would have expected communication to that effect. Also, according to the person who came out, they only dig using a trencher, no hand digging or air spade, with Austin's tree ordinances and just general prudence, this would seem to limit the sort of propertiess where their services would be appropriate.)

I had to wait until they had a opening in their schedule between big jobs. I am very satisfied and looking forward to installing drip irrigatin.

Their price was reasonable. They were professional. I will use them again in the future.