Sustainability
The Anacostia River can again be swimmable and fishable
The Anacostia River is widely called DC's "forgotten river," a term coined by Anacostia Watershed Society's founding president, Robert Boone, to reflect the river's second-class status in our nation's capital city.
Photo by Ardyiii on Flickr.
The Anacostia should be a community asset: a river safe for swimming and fishing, per the federal Clean Water Act. In many ways the Anacostia River is not forgotten anymore, but rather a well-kept secret for the recreational opportunities it does offer, including biking, paddling, and surprising beauty and solitude.
My organization, the Anacostia Watershed Society, has been working to improve the Anacostia for 20 years. We and the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association will discuss the river and its recreational future with local leaders and residents at a public forum this Saturday.
At the head of the river in Maryland, over a dozen crew teams from the region call Bladensburg Waterfront Park home, including University of Maryland, Catholic University, Elizabeth Seton High School, DeMatha Catholic High School, and Walter Johnson High School. You can even learn to row with the Washington Rowing School, rent a canoe or paddle boat from Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation, or take a guided river tour with AWS.
This park is also the gateway to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, a biker's paradise of trails stretching up to Greenbelt and Wheaton that within 2 years will connect southward along the river to the existing Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in the District.
The Anacostia River has a rich history of recreational use. Eastern Power Boat Club, founded in 1905, is the country's first power boat club, and Seafarer's Yacht Club, founded in 1945, is the oldest African-American yacht club on the east coast. Seafarer's has a long commitment to community service and the health of the river, starting the annual Anacostia River clean up that has grown into a major annual Earth Day event, and AWS is a proud partner.
Other members of the Historic Anacostia Boating Association are also along Boathouse Row (Water and M Streets SE), including District Yacht Club and Washington Yacht Club, as well as the Anacostia Community Boathouse, a home for rowers and recreational paddlers.
AWS is a founding member of the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association, and with ACBA's excellent new facilities at 1900 M Street SE, AWS has begun to increase our recreational paddling programs. In 2011, AWS "Paddle Nights" attracted several dozen people down to the river every 2 weeks and opened their eyes to the possibilities of a clean, healthy Anacostia River.
If you don't know about something, it is hard to care about it. In short, recreation equals stewardship, and we believe that more citizens should come to know and love the Anacostia River.
In light of AWS activities to clean up the river, we are often asked if it is safe to recreate on the Anacostia River. The answer is yes, if you are sensible about it. Don't swim, don't drink the water, and be careful about eating the fish. But please walk, bike, row, paddle, or simply look at and enjoy the river.
In order to share this information more widely, AWS and ACBA are hosting a River Health and Public Recreation Forum this Saturday, February 11, 9-11 am, at the First District Police Station, 101 M Street SW.
Councilmember Tommy Wells, Dr. Janet Phoenix of the DC Environmental Health Collaborative, Dr. Sacoby Wilson of the University of Maryland, Collin Burrell of the District Department of Environment, and Donal Barron of DC Water will give a brief panel presentation, followed by an audience Q&A. Topics will range from recreational safety to the risks posed by the river's various pollution sources, including bacteria, stormwater, toxics, and trash.
Although we've still got a ways to go to reach our goal of a swimmable and fishable Anacostia River, it is already a community asset for those who know its charms. Come down to the river and learn for yourself what many locals already know: the Anacostia is an urban oasis, and could yet be a better one if we have the willpower to make it happen. This well-kept secret is really a hidden gem.
 | Brent Bolin is a local environmental and community activist with a background in environmental law, science, and policy. He is passionate about social justice, livable cities, and sustainable urbanism. Brent lives in the Gateway Arts District (on the border of Ward 5) in Mount Rainier, MD where he serves on city council and blogs about local issues.   |
Comments
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by Geoffrey Hatchard on Feb 9, 2012 10:53 am • link • report
amen.
It's pretty amazing to canoe on the Anacostia and to have a beaver swim alongside the boat, or to watch great blue herons spearing fish. And Kenilworth and Arboretum are gems.
by jnb on Feb 9, 2012 11:25 am • link • report
by Ward 1 Guy on Feb 9, 2012 11:30 am • link • report
Geoff is right about the completed hiker/biker trail - it will be a total game changer. For starters, right now it is a real hassle to go between the Arboretum and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens without a boat, but the proposed bridge connecting the two will make that a snap.
There are definitely bald eagles along the river Ward 1 Guy. There's a nest on the east bank near the southern tip of Kingman Island and likely one nearer the DC/MD line. And there are so many osprey, egrets, and herons that you almost get bored of seeing them.
by Brent Bolin on Feb 9, 2012 12:00 pm • link • report
Which just makes me that much more appreciative of the work Brent and AWS has been doing. My family has enjoyed paddling night quite a bit. We've lived here for a decade and had no sense of how much the Anacostia had to offer, literally just several hundred feet from our house.
Now, if only someone could do something about the busy arterial road, acres of empty parking lots, and fences making it difficult to get there!!!!
by Tim Krepp on Feb 9, 2012 12:10 pm • link • report
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7471115@N08&q=anacostiariver
by MrTinDC on Feb 9, 2012 12:14 pm • link • report
by scott on Feb 9, 2012 12:30 pm • link • report
by Will on Feb 9, 2012 12:32 pm • link • report
I've run along Anacostia Park a lot and always wanted to do some rowing.
Just never knew how to go about it...
Any suggestions?
by HogWash on Feb 9, 2012 1:02 pm • link • report
by Diane Cameron on Feb 9, 2012 1:05 pm • link • report
by Jamie on Feb 9, 2012 1:09 pm • link • report
@Tim Krepp: Not sure if you're aware of it, but check out (http://www.capitolriverside.org/home). I think that plan, or something like it, would be a huge step up from the asphalt wasteland between Hill East and the River.
by Eric Sibley on Feb 9, 2012 1:09 pm • link • report
by HogWash on Feb 9, 2012 1:11 pm • link • report
by Jaime Fearer on Feb 9, 2012 1:14 pm • link • report
by Ted Leavengood on Feb 9, 2012 2:03 pm • link • report
Looking at the calendar, it doesn't seem as if they'll be offering lessons via the paddling clinic anytime soon.
:(
by HogWash on Feb 9, 2012 2:35 pm • link • report
by Tim Krepp on Feb 9, 2012 2:43 pm • link • report
If you want to learn to row on the Anacostia, Capital Rowing Club and the DC Strokes both offer introductory classes. No previous experience is necessary. I took DC Strokes' class 2 years ago, with absolutely no prior rowing experience, and have been rowing ever since -- I highly recommend it.
AWS offer occasional informal paddling nights out of the Anacostia Community Boathouse.
The National Capital Area Women's Paddling Association also provide introductory paddling programs for outrigger canoes and dragon boats. (Their name is somewhat outdated; the organization has been co-ed for many years.)
There are also a variety of collegiate and high-school programs that operate out of the Anacostia Boathouse. They're all linked to on the ACBA website.
On the surface, the river's a lot less polluted than its reputation would have you believe. Although garbage, silt, and organic debris (ie. tree branches) do tend to accumulate in the river after a big rainstorm, on a nice day the river can be gorgeous.
It is without a doubt one of DC's biggest hidden gems, and I couldn't be happier to see it finally getting some attention.
The bag tax has had a noticeable and dramatic impact on the river's appearance. Plastic bags are no longer a significant source of surface debris. Now, styrofoam and plastic bottles make up the bulk of the trash pollution after storms. Reducing the amount of urban rainwater runoff should further reduce the amount of pollution in and on the river.
On the other hand, many portions of the banks along the river are in fact (far) more polluted than the river itself. For many years, Washington Gas operated a massive industrial facility just east of the Navy Yard (now home to ACBA, and adjacent to the Eastern Power Boat Club, and Seafarer's Yacht Club). This, and other industrial activity along the river's banks has left the soil beneath the river's banks polluted with some extremely nasty chemicals. While remediation efforts have eliminated these pollutants from many locations, and various studies have deemed the cleanups to have largely been successful [in the 11th St Bridge EIS and a few other places, I can't seem to find the links], there have been allegations of a possible cancer cluster near this site.
[Important note: The river itself and current site of the Boathouse should be largely free of these pollutants. To the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely no evidence that recreational boating activity on the river has negative health effects.]
Recently, the DC and Federal governments forced Washington Gas to pay $700,000 to perform additional remediation steps on portions of this site. Among other things, this lingering pollution was one factor that forced the Boathouse to relocate so far away from its original site after the construction of the new 11th St Bridge necessitated the demolition of its old facility.
Offtopic sidenote: The last time DC was "occupied" was in 1932, after the 43,000-strong "Bonus Army" marched on the Capitol, demanding immediate payment of WWI pensions. The protesters camped on the current site of Anacostia Park, on the river's southern bank. The above-linked picture is remarkable for the number of landmarks along the river that still exist today, largely-unchanged.
[Disclaimer: I currently serve as the webmaster for the Anacostia Community Boathouse, and am a member of the DC Strokes Rowing Club. All of these opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of either organization.]
by andrew on Feb 9, 2012 3:03 pm • link • report
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/5924674008/
by MrTinDC on Feb 9, 2012 3:43 pm • link • report
I checked them out and like DCStrokes price better but Capital Rowing's schedule so I might go with the latter.
I'm a water wuss of the highest order so even something such as this would have my nerves completely shot! But I'm gonna do it
by HogWash on Feb 9, 2012 3:49 pm • link • report
I agree that a connected ART will make a huge difference.
Doing something like this:
- http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/bringing-a-floating-pool-to-nycs-east-river-filled-with-filtered-river-water.html
would at least start getting other people using the river, even if they can't exactly be in it.
In the meantime, people can take water tours, mostly of the Maryland part, from the Bladensburg Waterfront Park. I highly recommend doing so.
- http://www.pgparks.com/Things_To_Do/Nature/Bladensburg_Waterfront_Park/Boating_Information.htm
If NPS would allow docking at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, and if USDA would allow docking at the National Arboretum, that would extend the power of these tours, and work to get more people engaged with the river and the civic assets along it.
Goody Clancy has done some interesting river plans over the years:
- http://www.mass.gov/dcr/projects/masterPlans.htm
- http://commpres.env.state.ma.us/urv_web/Public_Site/kickoff.htm
by Richard Layman on Feb 9, 2012 6:31 pm • link • report
The increased access and docking piece is in the works. AWS is the steward for the Anacostia portion of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (http://www.nps.gov/cajo/index.htm) which will result in additional access points being built at places like Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. There already is a floating dock at the National Arboretum.
by Brent Bolin on Feb 9, 2012 6:54 pm • link • report
by Jennifer Chavez on Feb 9, 2012 8:20 pm • link • report
@Jamie mentioned Gabe Horchler's story, which is truly amazing. You can watch more "River Stories" here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3C2D10A784B1D48E
by Emma Boorboor on Feb 10, 2012 8:16 am • link • report
Excellent article! It's also encouraging to see the large number of thoughtful comments that it prompted. The AWS has been a disproportionately large force for change on the Anacostia, holding governmental feet to the fire. Keep reminding the powers that be that most of the watershed is in Maryland and the "fishable-swimmable" vision will require continued focus on working together.
As many if the comments have noted, the more people live and work and enjoy recreation near the Anacostia and its tributaries, the more grass roots support there will be for restoration.
Keep up the good work.
by Ted Graham on Feb 10, 2012 8:32 am • link • report
by John Muller on Feb 10, 2012 1:39 pm • link • report
by DyemanJim on Feb 10, 2012 10:23 pm • link • report
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