Case Study: Anacostia Watershed Society achieves SITES-guided sustainable site restoration and stormwater reduction with Vectorworks Landmark

The AWS Designs SITES Pilot Project with Vectorworks Landmark

The Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) is a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Anacostia River; it operates from the historic George Washington House in Bladensburg, MD. AWS faced a stormwater challenge: existing runoff, a flood-prone low-lying site and an earlier plan to place a bioretention cell that would have harmed an oak tree and disturbed protected archaeological resources, all complicated by the property’s historic easement. The project was accepted as a SITES pilot to guide a sensitive, sustainable redesign.

Using Vectorworks Landmark and SITES benchmarks, AWS produced a low-impact design that minimized excavation and honored the site’s heritage: permeable walkways, two underground cisterns (nearly 2,000 gallons), a water feature feeding a dry stream to an existing rain garden, onsite reuse of soils and stone, and a transition to native pollinator meadow. Funded by grants, donations and volunteers (project cost ~$65–75K), the retrofit will significantly reduce runoff and improve water quality, serve as an educational demonstration, train interns in design tools, and pursue Three‑Star SITES certification.

Anacostia Watershed Society

Mary Abe

LEED AP, Landscape Architect