You can take a free boat tour of the Anacostia River throughout the year and learn about the work that’s being done to make it more fishable and swimmable.

With grant money from D.C.’s five-cent bag tax, the Anacostia Riverkeeper holds regular tours that start at the Yards Marina and head upriver to the Anacostia railroad bridge.

On a recent tour, Riverkeeper Trey Sherard explained how the river has been cleaned up since the 1970s thanks to a new sewage treatment tunnel, but continues to have issues with so-called “forever chemicals” that remain in the sediment at the river’s bottom.

Passengers see how the river is shallower and narrower than it used to be, losing about a centimeter of depth each year due to soil erosion and other runoff.

In fact, the Riverkeeper recently had to cancel a long-awaited swimming event in the Anacostia, which has now been postponed until September with a date TBD, due to stormwater stirring up the river bottom.

But the tour balances the environmental message with signs of life on the river, including ospreys, cormorants, and three-toad box turtles, as well as paddlers in outrigger canoes, a group of young athletes sculling and a handful of fishermen, although Sherard said the river’s fish continue to have high concentrations of forever chemicals.

He also shared the rich history of the riverfront, pointing out the Seafarers Yacht Club, one of the oldest Black yacht clubs in the U.S., among other sites of interest.

To sign up for the one-hour free boat tour, look for “Anacostia River Explorers Public Tour at Yards Marina” on their Eventbrite page. Among other events, you can also sign up for their longer birding and boat ride, which is out of Anacostia Park, and includes a walk followed by tour on the river.

Anacostia Riverkeeper is a nonprofit which works to protect and restore the Anacostia River including mitigating trash in the river as well as stormwater to help improve water quality.

To support the efforts of the Anacostia Riverkeeper, make make a donation here.

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