Despite decades of rigorous work, research, and advocacy that have substantially improved water quality in the region, recent reports highlight the need for continued efforts to mitigate chemical and microplastic pollution in the Washington metropolitan area’s waterways.
The nonprofit Environment America Research and Policy Center reported in October that it found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” in 100% of tested waterways in Washington — the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake.
PFAS are a category of synthetic chemicals that break down slowly, allowing them to gather in the environment, aquatic species and the human body over time. This can be harmful, as long-term exposure to forever chemicals is associated with an increased risk of immune system suppression, reproductive and developmental effects, and other health complications. The compounds are also associated with a risk of breast, kidney, testicular, and respiratory cancers, among others.
“We know there are many, many compounds of these chemicals, and the ones we’ve studied all share some similar health concerns, but some haven’t been studied at all,” Lisa Frank, executive director of Environment America, told The Informer. “So, unfortunately, the more testing we do, the more PFAS we find… [and] the most important thing is we already know that we should be stopping the use of these chemicals.”
The Anacostia River and Kingman Lake tested positive for seven and nine PFAS compounds, respectively, but many waterways nationwide are not tested for PFAS, and many chemical entities go untracked. The Environmental Protection Agency lists approximately 14,735 PFAS compounds, but only about 114 are monitored in routine water testing. Monitoring opportunities must be expanded and funded to design effective solutions to reduce PFAS in the nation’s waterways.
Forever chemicals enter bodies of water through several pathways, including agricultural runoff, discharge from chemical plants and manufacturing facilities, wastewater treatment effluent, and contaminated soil from legacy landfills and dumps.
According to Frank, reducing and ultimately removing PFAS from U.S. waterways requires a multi-step approach, since people can be exposed to the chemicals through everyday products like non-stick cookware, grease-resistant food packaging, water- and stain-resistant fabrics, certain cosmetic supplies, industrial paints and building materials.
Anacostia Riverkeeper Trey Sherard believes the use of such chemicals and plastics should be outright banned due to all their negative environmental and public health implications.
“They are all chemically related. They are all synthetic,” Sherard told The Informer. “None of them are naturally occurring. They’re carcinogenic. They’re causing reproductive harm. They’re causing high cholesterol. They’re hurting and probably killing people, and it’s time to stop their use and production.”
More Non-Biodegradable Trouble
Aside from PFAS pollution, Washington’s waterways are also being further polluted by microplastics. Environment America Research and Policy Center released a report that also found microplastics in 100% of tested waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the Anacostia River.
Plastic is the most frequently occurring litter found in bodies of water, and those that are less than five millimeters in length, or microplastics, pose a significant threat to environmental and public health, as they can be consumed, penetrate human tissues, and enter bloodstreams due to their minuscule size.
“We can no longer treat plastic pollution as an isolated problem if every water sample contains microplastics,” said American Bird Conservancy Vice President of Advocacy and Threats Programs Brian Brooks. “It is permeating the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem and food web. We must stop plastic pollution at its source and protect the Bay before this issue gets worse.”
These microscopic pollutants can suffocate animals and cause them to starve. If fish consume them, their guts, gills and cells are prone to damage, putting an essential food source and ecological actor at risk.
Per research funded by the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, the presence of both microplastics and PFAS in waterways is concerning, as these “forever chemical” compounds can tightly adhere to the minuscule pollutants and enter the food web easily since neither contaminant is biodegradable.
Environmental stewards have been diligently working to improve the Anacostia River’s health over the last few decades and do not want to see that momentum lost. In 2026, it was reported to be the healthiest it had been in the last 30 years, earning a C- and a score of 71% per the Anacostia Watershed Society State of the River Report Card.
“The health of the Anacostia [River] is directly tied to the health of the Potomac River, and that is the source of our drinking water,” Dr. Dennis Chestnut, Ward 7 native and Groundwork Anacostia River D.C. (GWARD) executive director, told The Informer. “[The Anacostia] is kind of the spine, and it’s important that Washington, D.C. makes its river as healthy as possible.”
Preserving the Anacostia River’s Regained Health
Based in Ward 7, GWARD is part of the national coalition Groundwork U.S.A., which partners with local communities to advance climate resilience, prioritize sustainability and green spaces, and engage with youth and community members.
Founded in 2007, GWARD fosters community development by prioritizing river and park restoration through cleanups and revitalization sessions. The nonprofit engages local youth through education and hands-on work, such as maintaining floating litter traps and participating in tree-planting sessions.
Having grown up near the Anacostia River and witnessed the negative effects of contaminants like waste from the old Kenilworth Municipal Landfill, Chestnut prioritizes the river’s health and recognizes that a clean river protects the surrounding community’s health.
“We would like to see city leaders put the Anacostia River and other natural resources in the city front and a priority… across all agencies,” the native Washingtonian told The Informer. “It’s located between communities that are inhabited by people of color, by lower-income people, and the health of the communities that border it is directly tied to the health of the river.”
In 2013, the Department of Energy and Environment launched the Anacostia River Sediment Project (ARSP) and has spent the last 13 years raising funds and conducting research for the initiative. The project is meant to identify any potential sediment contamination in the nine-mile tidal portion of the Anacostia River, the Washington Channel and Kingman Lake and uncover hotspots where toxic chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highest.
According to Sherard, cleanup and remediation are scheduled to start on the Washington Channel in 2027, then in Kingman Lake either that same year or in 2028, and on the Anacostia River’s most dire hotspots sometime in 2028.
Because PCBs are linked to causing a wide array of detrimental health effects in humans, such as respiratory problems, possible liver damage, thyroid disruptions, dermal complications like chloracne, and others, Sherard appreciates the initiative, but wishes PFAS were included as well.
“PFAS often gets called an emerging contaminant, which bugs me because I’ve been hearing of it referred to as [that] for 15 years, so I feel like… it’s out, it’s here, it’s a contaminant class,” the riverkeeper told The Informer. “I think we need a second-generation sediment project, [so] as they’re hitting these PCB hotspots, we need to be screening and planning for the next round, which should be PFAS hotspots.”
The Anacostia River is deeply impacted by sedimentation– the process where erosion causes rock and soil particles to detach and settle into the riverbeds, raising elevation and decreasing depth. Sherard told The Informer that the river loses about a centimeter of depth each year, and wishes the ARSP focused more on dredging rather than capping.
Dredging is a process that removes sediment and debris from the bottom of water bodies, which helps reverse the effects of sedimentation, increase water depth and reduce human and animal exposure to contaminants. On the other hand, capping is when sand and activated charcoal are combined to soak up toxins and prevent them from being bioavailable.
A focus on dredging would have been more holistic, protecting depth levels, fish health, water quality and coastlines.
“We need dredging for lots of reasons– not just toxins,” Sherard told The Informer. “We need it for climate readiness, we need it for flood mitigation during storms that are getting bigger with climate change, and we need it for equity.”
Looking ahead, especially as the new Commanders stadium will be built along the Anacostia’s banks, stewards and advocates like Sherard and Chestnut hope city leaders and developers will keep the river’s health in mind when moving forward with construction plans.
Sherard wants to see more green space, the creation of new creeks deliberately placed along the campus to benefit the river’s wetlands, and the removal of toxic sediment.
Chestnut also hopes the stadium’s construction will push leaders and developers to further invest in the river, its ecosystems, and its overall health, since it is a crucial natural resource right in the nation’s capital.
“Let’s invest to improve it and make it complement what we’re trying to do,” Chestnut told The Informer. “Water is the one thing we cannot live without; Water is life.”
