When stormwater and sewage come through the floor in College Park
College Park's best-documented water problem is a basement problem. City council minutes record that during the 10 September 2020 rain, stormwater flowed into Calvert Hills houses and sometimes sewage backed up through toilets, drains and sinks. That mix is why a wet basement here is treated as possibly contaminated until a technician has checked it.
Your first moves are the same wherever the water comes from. Stop the source if it is inside the house, stay out of standing water, and call (301) 936-0619 for dispatch at any hour. If the water is rising from a drain, WSSC Water keeps a 24-hour line for sewer backups at 301-206-4002, and it advises starting with a WSSC-registered plumber.
Do these four things while the water is still spreading
Find the shutoff
Supply lines and water heaters stop at the main valve, usually where the pipe enters the house near the meter. Close it before you start carrying anything.
Power only if the panel is dry
Switch off breakers for wet rooms only when the panel is dry and reachable without stepping in water. If the panel is wet, stay back and call your electric utility or 911.
Get belongings off the floor
Lift boxes, electronics and upholstered pieces onto tables or stairs. Soaked carpet and drywall can wait for the crew, but photographs and paperwork cannot.
Treat drain water as sewage
Water that came up through a toilet or floor drain may carry bacteria. Keep children and pets out, then call (301) 936-0619.
Streets, ZIP codes and dispatch across College Park
We answer College Park calls around the clock from our base in Hyattsville, about 2.8 miles from the city's center point in a straight line. Most homes and apartments use ZIP 20740, the code on the city office at 7401 Baltimore Avenue, the Route 1 corridor that the university calls the city's main commercial artery. ZIP 20742 is the University of Maryland campus code.
Directions are easier with a landmark. Calvert Hills runs north to Calvert Road, east to the CSX and MARC station and south to Albion Road, while the MARC stop at 7202 Bowdoin Avenue and the College Park Metro station help a dispatcher place Old Town addresses. Lake Artemesia, at Berwyn Road and 55th Avenue, is a useful marker for calls on the north side.
The same dispatch line covers the neighboring towns to the south. Riverdale Park is about two miles away between center points, and Bladensburg is nearly four, so a storm that hits one often hits the others.
Water on the floor in College Park?
Call (301) 936-0619. The scope and the price are laid out for you before any work begins.
What Calvert Hills, Lakeland and Old Town show about risk
Calvert Hills: storm drains still being rebuilt
The city is building a Calvert Hills storm drain project to carry more surface runoff and cut the frequency of significant flooding. Construction mobilization was underway in September 2025, with parts C and D expected in the first quarter of 2027 and parts A and B in the first quarter of 2028.
A county fact sheet on the project says it is not intended as a complete flood solution. Until the work is finished, keep gutters, window wells and floor drains clear before heavy rain.
Lakeland: between two creeks
The county's flood history page lists the Lakeland section of College Park among the places flooded by Tropical Storm Agnes in June 1972. A 1972 newspaper account kept by a Lakeland heritage archive puts the neighborhood between Paint Branch and Indian Creek.
The county's flood-damage study also names Indian Creek at U.S. Route 1 and Paint Branch at Cherry Hill Road as priority areas, though it does not show them inside city limits. Check the FEMA flood map for your address at msc.fema.gov before you decide what coverage to carry.
Old Town: older houses, mostly rented
Old Town's National Register district covers homes built between 1889 and 1965, and the university's off-campus housing office says roughly four in five are rented. A slow leak in an older house can run for weeks before a tenant reports it, and Census data show only 34.0 percent of College Park homes are owner-occupied. Renters should report a leak to the landlord in writing the day they find it.
Matching the service to the College Park loss
The likeliest problems here start with water entering from below, so the list runs from sewage and floodwater to repairs.
Backup or flooded basement
Standing water comes out first with emergency water removal, using extraction units, then drying begins. Porous materials that touched sewage usually cannot be saved.
Creek-side or storm flooding
Rising water from rain events falls under flood damage restoration, which adds contamination handling and a longer drying plan.
Wet walls after the water stops
Moisture meters and thermal imaging cameras find water inside walls, and water mitigation uses air movers and LGR dehumidifiers to dry it to the standard, ANSI/IICRC S500.
Rebuilding afterward
Once structure and contents are dry, water damage repair replaces drywall, flooring and trim. EPA advice is to dry wet areas within 24 to 48 hours to head off mold.
Apartments along Route 1 and near campus
The University of Maryland, founded here in 1856, has more than 41,000 students, and the university's own writers note that the apartment buildings along Route 1 have grown taller. In a stacked building, one failed supply line can wet several units below it.
If water is coming through a ceiling, tell the property manager and call the line at the same time. Ask any restoration company whether its crews work to ANSI/IICRC S500, and have the scope and price explained before work starts.
Who owns which pipe, and who permits the repair
Know the lines before you call
WSSC Water is the water and sewer utility for College Park, and its backups page says the owner maintains the sewer line from the property line to the building. City minutes from a meeting with WSSC show the utility saying stormwater flooding is outside its responsibility.
Insurance treats these differently. Sewer backup often needs an endorsement, flood is usually excluded, and a slow leak is often not covered, so ask your insurer before you assume anything.
For rebuilding, the county's inspection table lists Prince George's DPIE for building and electrical permits and WSSC for plumbing. The city requires its own permit for fences. Ask DPIE before you rebuild walls, wiring or pipes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. ZIP 20740 is the main one, the code on the city office at 7401 Baltimore Avenue and the code for homes and apartments around the Route 1 corridor. ZIP 20742 is the University of Maryland campus code, with dorms and university buildings.
ZIP 20741 is a PO box code with no buildings, so there is nothing to dispatch to there.
Yes. Dispatch runs 24 hours a day, including nights and weekends. Call (301) 936-0619, say whether the water may include sewage, and ask whether a same-day visit is open. The dispatcher lays out the work plan and cost first.
The city says its project is meant to improve runoff capacity and reduce the frequency of significant flooding, but a county fact sheet says it is not intended as a flood solution. Plan on keeping drains clear and consider asking your insurer about a sewer backup endorsement.
Stop the water if you can, photograph the damage, and tell your landlord in writing. Then call the line if the water is spreading. Renters policies cover your belongings, not the building, so ask your insurer about your own items.
Permit rules vary by the work. Prince George's DPIE handles building and electrical permits and WSSC handles plumbing, while the city issues its own fence permits. Ask DPIE before you rebuild walls, electrical or plumbing.