Dear PoPville – Advice on Cleaning Up Overhead Backyard Wires

Dear PoPville,

My Capitol Hill rowhouse has always had a ridiculous amount of overhead wires crisscrossing my backyard. I assume the wires are power, cable television, and even landline telephones. After the derecho storm, many of the wires are drooping really low and some have even pulled loose from their mounts on various neighboring properties. The cables are an eyesore in my backyard and I’d like to get them removed or uncluttered. Unfortunately, many of the lines cross several yards and attach to rowhouses as well as an apartment building. Do you know which entity in DC has jurisdiction over the wires that cross multiple yards? Or is cleaning them up a function of each individual property owner?

I believe these are cable/phone wires. You may have to deal directly with comcast, verizon etc. Has anyone had any recent success getting backyard wires cleaned up?