Since 2007, the Potomac Conservancy has released annual “State of the Nation’s River” reports, in which the water’s quality is assessed based on a letter grading scale, threats to clean water are examined, and solutions are discussed. While quality has improved since the first assessment, this year’s review, released on Nov. 12, revealed a plateau in progress, as the river scored a “B” for the fifth consecutive report card.
Once a body of water frequented by a variety of aquatic life, or where Washingtonians could swim and fish on warm days, the Potomac River is a natural landmark integral to the region’s history and culture. Decades of water pollution deemed the river unswimmable and unfishable in 1923, which has motivated advocates and scientists to restore what was once a recreational hub for the community.
“It’s tough because success is not guaranteed, but we do see this as a decisive decade,” Hedrick Belin, executive director of the Potomac Conservancy, told The Informer, “these next 10-years, where [we’re] accelerating the prolonged efforts and continuing to build on the progress that’s already been made.”
While pollutants are decreasing, the river’s forests are becoming more protected and river recreation increases, the Potomac is still subject to large amounts of urban runoff, native fish populations are struggling, and some states in the basin aren’t reaching their streamside planting goals.
In nearly two decades of the conservancy’s report cards, the river’s water health has been able to improve from a “D” to a “B,” but now, as such quality recovery has stalled, various groups are urging collaboration between actors to transform the Potomac into the river the East Coast and the nation’s capital deserve.
“A swimmable, fishable river is the goal, but… we are not at the finish line yet,” said Dr. Moussa Wone, vice president of the D.C. Water Clean Rivers Project, when the report was released. “This work takes partnership from our local and federal partners, regional stakeholders and our communities to address other pollution sources such as urban and agricultural runoff.”
The Potomac Conservancy, DC Water and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) are three entities actively leading research and initiatives centered around enhancing factors that will contribute to a healthier river.
“Rising threats to water quality remain real,” Wone continued. “That’s why water is not optional– it’s essential.”
Natural and Manmade Solutions Offer Hope for Cleaner Water
According to the report card, urban runoff is the greatest threat to a clean and healthy Potomac River. A mixture of street oil, fertilizers, sediment and trash flows from streets, lawns and parking lots into streams that lead to the river, and is exacerbated when the region experiences heavy rainfall or flash flooding events.
Preventing a large volume of runoff from entering the body of water is possible by restoring lost tree cover, as streamside forests act as a filter for sediment and other pollutants that are suspended in the water flowing into the river. Manmade mitigation tactics are also effective, such as green infrastructure like rain gardens, floating trash traps and sewer tunnels.
Although these tactics exist, federal and local funding cuts to such environmental initiatives make the fight for a clean river even more difficult.
“[Urban runoff] is the only source of pollution going into the Potomac that’s increasing,… so that’s what’s really driving the challenge,” Belin told The Informer. “For the Potomac right now, federal leadership is lacking, and it’s a multi-state watershed, so without that federal leadership, it’s going to be tough.”
Another way that cleanliness in the basin is maintained is through the animals inhabiting its waters. Aquatic animals can purify a body of water, as many invertebrates that live at the bottom of rivers and streams are capable of removing harmful debris and excess nutrients from the water.
ICPRB is committed to eliminating pollution in the watershed while securing Washington with a reliable drinking water supply. One of the ways the multi-state organization does this is by trying to increase and preserve the presence of aquatic life in the Potomac, particularly freshwater mussels, which are often considered the livers of rivers due to their natural ability to filter water.
“It’s difficult for them to get upstream because they’re in… dams four and five near Shepherdstown,” said ICPRB Executive Director Michael Nardolilli. “So, we’re building eel ladders to get the eels upstream… because they transport the baby mussels so they can get upstream, grow and actually help filter the water.”
Eels are the Potomac’s only catadromous species, meaning that while they spend most of their lives inhabiting the river, they travel out to sea to breed. They are constantly faced with the challenge of encountering impassable dams, which is why the ICPRB won a $419.3 thousand grant in September, meant to fund the eels’ passage throughout the North Branch Potomac via these ladders.
D.C. Water’s Clean Rivers Project shares the same goal as ICPRB to bring consistently clean drinking water to the nation’s capital. To reach this goal, the initiative relies on its most recent phase, the Potomac River Tunnel (PRT) project, to capture and reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the water.
Since 2005, the Clean Rivers Project has reduced the amount of stormwater runoff and sewage entering the river by 98%, or 19.5 billion gallons. The 5.5-mile-long PRT, which is the District’s largest environmental infrastructure project, will hopefully reduce sewage overflows by 93% – the required percentage to meet the city’s water quality standard. With the project’s past, current and future initiatives, it is on track to reduce overflows of combined wastewater by 96% by 2030.
While such a longstanding plateau in cleaning the Potomac’s water may be discouraging, the sheer commitment to restoring its health is inspiring, but achieving such a feat and scoring an “A” requires collaboration and unwavering determination to the cause.
“We need to keep the momentum going,” Wone said. “And to make [the Potomac] truly swimmable, fishable and resilient, we must stay bold, stay united and stay committed.”