The nearly nine-mile Anacostia River, once called D.C.’s “forgotten river,” has been the focus of intense cleanup efforts in recent years.
The District of Columbia has a plan to make the Anacostia River “fishable and swimmable” by 2032, but some local environmentalists think they can do it sooner.
The Anacostia Watershed Society, a nonprofit based in Bladensburg, has outlined a plan to clean up the river by 2025, and an event on Saturday for Earth Day plays a key role.
Started in 1989, the nonprofit has been a catalyst for cleaning up the river, educating local residents and forcing government action through strategic lawsuits.
The society’s “roadmap for a clean river” includes several big efforts, some of which you can easily do everyday at home:
• Add rain gardens and permeable pavement, like the ones found on Edmonston’s “green street” and at University Park Elementary School
• Install “green roofs” that absorb rainfall like the one on top of Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville’s Arts District
• Reduce plastic bag use and implement a fee in D.C. and Montgomery County and styrofoam bans in Prince Georges and Montgomery counties
• Repair broken and leaky sewage pipes and clean up toxic sites such as a Washington Gas site and a former Pepco power plant
You can play a role this weekend with cleanup efforts in and around several communities along the Route 1 corridor. The Anacostia Watershed Society will hold an Earth Day Cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 21.
Some 2,000 volunteers will pick up trash and clean up polluted sites along the Anacostia and its tributaries.
To learn more about volunteering on Saturday or to make a donation, visit http://earthday.anacostiaws.org/earthday2018, call 301-699-6204 ext. 119, or email earthday@anacostiaws.org.
