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State of the nacostia River
2016 Report Card
The Anacostia Watershed Society is committed torestoring the
Anacostia River and its tributaries to fishableand swimmable
conditions according to federal law, theClean Water Act. Modest
progress made in recent yearscontinues to hold steady, but
substantial effort is needed toattain safe conditions for swimming
and fish consumption.
Four major obstacles prevent the Anacostia River from beinga
healthy natural resource: fecal bacteria, toxics, trash, and
uncontrolled stormwater. Each of these factors is beingaddressed
at various levels by those entrusted with therivers well-being,
from planning to milestone achievements.Collaborations and
commitments remain strong.
This years evaluation of select parameters shows a levelingout
overall. Improvements for dissolved oxygen, submergedaquatic
vegetation, toxics, and trash were nearly offset bysmall declines
in scores for fecal bacteria, water clarity,Chlorophyll a, and
stormwater runoff volume.
A swimmable, fishable Anacostia River by 2025 is in sight.
Itwill take the work of all of us by being better stewards of
ourenvironments and advocating for accountability and
moresustainable practices.
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*1 AWS scoring method used for Stormwater, Toxics, and Trash.
EcoCheck scoring method for all other categories. (100% is
best.)
*2 Standard school grading system (Below 60 = F).
*3 Five year intervals were used to compare then (1985) to now
(2014-2015) for trends.
NOTE: Toxics, Trash, and Overall Eort and Commitment evaluaons
are from 2015. Other data sets are from 2014, the most recent
available.
2 16 ANACOSTIA RIVER REPORT CARD
SCORE (%)*1
GRADE*2
TREND*3
WATER QUALITY INDICATORS
Dissolved Oxygen 58 F Needs Attention
Fecal Bacteria 60 D- Improving
Water Clarity
40
F
Improving
Chlorophyll a 72 C- Improving
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation 30 F Improving
Stormwater Runoff Volume 45 F Degrading
Toxics 28 F Improving
Trash 46 F Improving
Overall Effort and Commitment C+ Improving
Grade for Entire Anacostia River
47
F
Improving
COMMENTS: Progress made continues to hold steady, but
substantial effort is
needed to attain safe conditions for swimming and fish
consumption.
The following parameters are used to assess water quality and
condions:
Dissolved Oxygen is crical for survival of aquac life and
ecosystem sustainability.
Fecal Bacteria contaminaon is caused by sewage discharges and
leaks, and from pet and wildlife waste.
Water Clarity is a measure of light penetrang the water column;
this aects the health of aquac grasses.
Chlorophyll ais the measure of microalgae biomass; this can
impact water clarity and dissolved oxygen levels.
Submerged Aquac Vegetaon requires light to thrive and is essenal
habitat for young sh and other aquac life.
Stormwater Runo ushes trash and toxics from paved areas and
erodes stream banks, lling the river with sediment
Toxicsin the Anacosa include PCBs and PAHs that potenally pose
chronic damage to people and wildlife.
Trashis unsightly, injures and kills wildlife and is a major
river pollutant, especially plasc bags, boles, and foam.
Overall Eort and Commitment is based on current iniaves from
government agencies, nonprot organizaons, and
the private sector to clean up and restore the river.
June 2016. For more on monitoringresults, trends, and why AWS
believes wecan have a fishable and swimmable river
by 2025 visit www.anacostiaws.org.
Thanks to the following organizations in helping assess water
qualit
Mid-Atlantic Tributary Assessment Coalition
USDA Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory
District Department of Energy and Environment
American Chemical Society
The Campbell Foundation
AWS is looking for potential funders to make this reporting
sustainable.Please contact Emily Conrad if you can help.
[email protected] (301) 699-6204
For the full report, please visit
anacosaws.org/programs/publicaairs/2016-state
-river
-report
-c
http://www.anacostiaws.org./http://www.anacostiaws.org./mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.anacostiaws.org./
