Drainage, Stormwater & Hardscape in Northeast Washington, DC

Drainage in the Anacostia quadrant

Northeast Washington sits in the eastern half of the District, and its drainage runs to the Anacostia River — a watershed that covers most of the eastern half of Washington, DC. Hickey Run, a tributary of the Anacostia, has its historic headwaters in the Langdon area of Northeast before reaching the river.

How your own property drains, though, depends on where in Northeast you sit. The inner, near-in neighborhoods — Eckington, Brentwood, Ivy City, Brookland, Kingman Park — are served by DC's older combined sewer system, where stormwater and sewage move through one pipe; the outer, eastern neighborhoods toward the Maryland line sit in the separate storm-sewer (MS4) system. When a combined line surcharges in heavy rain, water backs up at the yard level. Actaeon's drainage work — French drains, regrading, downspout extensions, dry wells, and yard leveling — moves water off the lot before the receiving system becomes the problem.

Hardscape and drainage for streetcar-era homes

Northeast grew up around the streetcar. Brookland developed as a middle-class streetcar suburb beginning in 1887, where many Queen Anne and other Victorian homes still stand; the houses of Langdon went up starting around 1890 with the extension of Rhode Island Avenue NE; and Deanwood keeps its relatively low-density, small wood-frame and brick homes and dense tree cover — a small-town character unique in the District.

Homes of that age come with age-related drainage problems: grades that settled over decades, original downspouts pointed at the foundation, and aging retaining walls. Actaeon rebuilds and installs retaining walls, patios, walkways, and stone features, and regrades around them so water sheds away from the house. On a DC lot, a retaining wall carries its own permit path — a Department of Buildings (DOB) building permit with a concurrent Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) review — and we build to that standard.

DC permits and the RiverSmart rebates — where Northeast qualifies

Washington, DC building permits are issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB), at 1100 4th Street SW — not a county office. Land-disturbing work and most retaining walls require a DOB permit, with DOEE reviewing the stormwater side. We build to that standard.

DOEE's RiverSmart Homes program offers rain barrels for a $100 copayment (up to two per property) and free shade-tree planting to essentially any DC home, and RiverSmart Rewards can take up to 55% off the DOEE stormwater fee and 20% off DC Water's Clean Rivers charge for properties with qualifying green infrastructure — none of which depends on your sewershed.

The larger permeable-pavers and re-vegetation rebate — up to $6,000 — is where Northeast splits. Under DOEE's rules it reaches only homes within the MS4 sewershed, in Ward 7, or in Ward 8. That makes the outer, eastern side of Northeast — the Ward 7 neighborhoods toward the Maryland line, like Deanwood and Kenilworth — genuinely eligible, on two grounds at once: MS4 and Ward 7. The inner, combined-sewer side of Northeast generally is not. Eligibility is set address by address, so check yours with DOEE before counting on it.

Neighborhoods We Serve in Northeast DC

Serving Northeast DC neighborhoods including Brookland, Brentwood, Eckington, Edgewood, Ivy City, Trinidad, Langdon, Woodridge, Michigan Park, Fort Lincoln, Fort Totten, Riggs Park, Lamond Riggs, Deanwood, Kenilworth, Eastland Gardens, Mayfair, River Terrace, Carver Langston, and Kingman Park.