Water Damage Restoration services in Delaware

Wilmington's waterfront and creek-side blocks flood quickly, while suburban basements more often suffer from failed sump pumps during the same storms.

Wilmington has older brick rowhomes with basements. Newark has much University of Delaware rental housing, and Hockessin has larger homes with finished basements and sump pumps.

Start with water damage restoration, flooded basement cleanup or burst pipe water damage. Renters in Newark should tell their landlord first, then record their own belongings.

Cities and neighborhoods: Bear, Claymont, Delaware City, Hockessin, Middletown, New Castle, Newark, Wilmington.

This page covers the northern part of Delaware: Wilmington, Claymont, Newark, Hockessin, Bear, New Castle, Delaware City and Middletown. Kent and Sussex counties, including Dover and the beach towns, are not part of the listed area. If you are unsure about your address, ask at the start of the call.

The local water story is creeks, not the ocean. Brandywine Creek, Red Clay, White Clay and the Christina River rise quickly after heavy rain, and low ground along the Delaware River and the canal has its own concerns.

Brandywine Creek crested at 23.14 feet in Wilmington on the morning of September 2, 2021, as Ida's remnants drained off the land. The previous record, 20.43 feet, dated only from 2014. The University of Delaware's Water Resources Center put the peak at 33,700 cubic feet per second, above the 29,000 recorded during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Dozens of people were rescued, and the state requested a federal disaster declaration.

Two records in seven years are a good reason to look up your street, rather than rely on what a seller remembers. DNREC launched an online flood planning tool in 2024 that helps people see the flood risk for a specific property.

A Wilmington rowhome shares walls with neighbors and often has an older basement. Water may come through the wall line or up a floor drain, and repairs can involve the house next door. If the home predates 1978, expect lead paint questions; EPA rules apply to paid work that disturbs it.

Middletown and Bear skew much younger. Slab houses there often keep water heaters, washers and panels together in utility closets, so a failed connector can soak adjoining rooms quickly. Where there is a basement, the sump pump is the single point of failure, and a storm that knocks out power takes the pump with it. The sump pump guide covers why that happens.

Delaware's Department of Insurance publishes information specifically on flood coverage, and it helps with consumer questions if a claim becomes difficult. The key point is one that Ida brought home in Wilmington: homeowners coverage generally does not pay for rising water. That takes a separate flood policy, and new policies often have a waiting period, so do not leave it until a storm is forecast.

Sump failures and backups are their own category. Many policies only cover them with an endorsement, and the wording matters; look for it before the next heavy rain.