The Anacostia River earned its best water quality grade in three decades of monitoring. The grade: C-minus.
The Anacostia Watershed Society, which has tested the river since the mid-1990s, released its annual report card giving the waterway the highest mark it has ever received, as WJLA reported Aug. 21. Thirty years ago, the Anacostia ranked among the most polluted rivers in the country.
"The sewage tunnel has made such an enormous difference," Anacostia Riverkeeper Trey Sherard said. "We haven't had a combined sewer overflow to this river in over two and a half years. We used to have them 86 times a year."
The tunnel Sherard referenced is part of DC Water's Clean Rivers Project, a network of underground tunnels more than 100 feet deep that has reduced combined sewer overflow volume into the Anacostia by 90 percent, according to the EPA. DC Water broke ground July 9 on the Piney Branch Tunnel, the project's final major phase, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2029.
Still, the report warns the river faces serious obstacles. Fecal bacteria and dissolved oxygen levels remain problematic, forests and wetlands that once buffered the waterway from pollution are disappearing, and industrial waste sits embedded in the riverbed.
Anacostia Watershed Society CEO Chris Williams said making the river swimmable requires cleaning up fecal bacteria, while making fish safe to eat means removing contamination from the river bottom. He predicted swimming could be possible within a few years, with safe fishing following after that.
Settlement targets Ward 5 polluter
The improved grade also reflects enforcement actions against companies that fouled the river. On July 31, Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that Fort Myer Construction Corporation agreed to pay $450,000 and overhaul practices at its Ward 5 facility at 2237 33rd St. NE to settle allegations it allowed petroleum, soap, salt and sediment to flow into Springhouse Run, a stream that passes through the National Arboretum and into the Anacostia.
The Office of the Attorney General sued Fort Myer in 2024, alleging nearly a decade of violations. Half the settlement, $225,000, goes to DC's Water Quality Enforcement Fund. Over the past 10 years, the office has secured more than $120 million through environmental enforcement actions, including a $57 million recovery from Pepco for contaminating the Anacostia.
Sherard called the toxics work "an ongoing fight" but said the river's rising profile is already reshaping the neighborhood. Apartments facing the water command higher prices than identical units on the opposite side of the same buildings, he noted, and riverfront restaurants are drawing higher-paying customers.
What's next
DC Water's Piney Branch Tunnel, once complete, will reduce combined sewer overflows to Piney Branch by 96 percent. Fort Myer must submit monthly progress reports for three years and faces additional penalties for noncompliance.
