Between Sheriff Road, Central Avenue and the Orange Line tracks, Landover packs about 26,000 residents into four square miles of subdivisions such as Kentland, Dodge Park, Palmer Park, Columbia Park and Summerfield, along with the stadium grounds that have hosted the Washington football team since 1997. Much of this land drains toward Beaverdam Creek and on to the Anacostia, and Prince George's County lists the Beaverdam corridor in Landover among its priority flood problem areas.
The Restoration Job connects callers with independent restoration providers; it does not send its own crews. Dial (888) 317-9980 any time and we'll link you with a provider that covers Landover and nearby communities like Cheverly, Glenarden and Landover Hills.
How the call works: when you call (888) 317-9980, The Restoration Job connects you with an independent restoration provider that serves Landover. That provider inspects the damage, explains the scope and quotes the work. The Restoration Job doesn't perform restoration itself. Read our referral disclosure.
Beaverdam Creek and the County's Priority Flood List
Upper and Lower Beaverdam Creek are both tributaries of the Anacostia River, whose watershed covers roughly 176 square miles of eastern Montgomery County, northern Prince George's County and eastern Washington. After a 15-year multi-agency study, the county estimated that about 4,000 structures countywide are flood prone in a 100-year storm, concentrated in older, highly urbanized communities inside the Beltway. Its ten highest-priority areas include Beaverdam at Landover, where 40 structures were identified.
That is a small share of Landover's homes, but it tells you where to look. Houses close to the creek's branches and to culverts under major roads face the most risk when a storm stalls overhead. The county's suggested remedies for the worst cases include floodproofing and, in some situations, acquisition of the most severely flood-prone homes.
Cloudbursts Over Pavement: Basements, Window Wells and Stairwells
Landover has a lot of hard surface: big parking lots, wide arterial roads and dense blocks of townhouses. On September 10, 2020, a narrow band of storms dropped 2 to 5 inches of rain across parts of the Washington area, mostly within about two hours, and Prince George's County suburbs were among the hardest hit, with water rescues and flooded roads. Rain that heavy outruns storm drains. Water then pools against foundations and pours into window wells, exterior basement stairs and garage slabs that slope toward the house.
Simple steps help before the next storm: clear leaves from area drains, extend downspouts away from the foundation and test any sump pump. If yard water keeps reaching the house from a neighbor's lot or the street, the county's Department of the Environment investigates residential drainage complaints filed through PGC311.
Water Inside a Landover House: Steps for Day One
- Shut off power to wet areas at the panel if you can do so from a dry spot.
- Stop the source: close the main water valve for a plumbing leak, or wait for floodwater to recede before entering.
- Photograph every room and the waterline on walls before moving anything.
- Move furniture off wet carpet and prop up cushions and rugs.
- Call your insurer, and ask a restoration provider to document moisture readings.
From there, a provider will extract standing water, remove carpet pad and any drywall that has wicked water, and set up drying equipment. When creek or street water was involved, flood cleanup includes cleaning and disinfecting surfaces because floodwater carries soil, fuel and sewage. A plumbing leak with clean water may only need extraction and drying, followed by water damage repair to replace flooring and drywall.
Storm Outages, Sump Pumps and Fallen Limbs
Severe wind matters here as much as rain. The June 29, 2012 derecho brought gusts of 70 mph at Reagan National and left about 1.2 million customers in the Washington region without power, and in Hurricane Isabel nearly 200,000 Prince George's County residents lost electricity. Outages that last a day or more stop sump pumps exactly when groundwater is rising, and limbs through a roof let rain in for hours before a tarp goes up. A battery backup on the sump pump and a quick roof check after any major storm are worth the effort. The county's Emergency Management Division, which is headquartered on Anchor Street in Landover, sends warnings through Alert Prince George's.
Keeping Mold Out of a Landover Basement
Humid summers make basements and lower-level rooms slow to dry. Wet drywall, carpet backing and the bottom plates of finished walls can support mold within a few days if moisture is not removed. Running a dehumidifier after any water event, opening the bottom of finished walls when they have been soaked, and checking for musty odors in the weeks after a leak are the practical safeguards. Visible growth larger than a small patch, or growth that returns after cleaning, points to hidden moisture and a job for a professional.
Areas In and Around Landover
Calls come in from across Landover, including:
- Kentland
- Dodge Park
- Palmer Park
- Columbia Park
- Summerfield
- Kenmoor
- Ardwick Park
- Brightseat
The same line also serves nearby communities such as:
- Landover Hills
- Cheverly
- Glenarden
- Lanham
- New Carrollton
- Largo
- Fairmount Heights
Common Questions
How can I tell if my Landover home is near the Beaverdam flood area?
Enter your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center to see mapped flood zones, and look at how close you are to the creek branches and road culverts. Prince George's County will provide elevation certificates and GIS-based floodplain studies on written request. Even outside a mapped zone, a basement can flood in a heavy downpour, so a low-cost flood policy is worth pricing if water has reached your property before.
Is water from a heavy storm covered by my homeowners policy?
Surface water that flows in from outside is generally excluded from standard homeowners policies and requires separate flood insurance. Sewer or drain backup is often a separate endorsement as well. Water from a burst pipe or failed appliance is commonly covered. Because the source decides the claim, take clear photos showing where water entered, and ask your agent which coverages apply before you sign a work authorization.
Where do I report a sewer backup or broken water main in Landover?
WSSC Water handles both and takes emergency reports at 301-206-4002. Sewer water inside a home should be treated as contaminated, so keep people and pets away from it and avoid running water down drains until the line is cleared. A restoration provider can then remove affected materials, disinfect and dry the space.