The
Anacostia River is a river in the
Mid Atlantic regionThe Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It flows from
Prince George's CountyPrince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
in
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
into
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where it joins with the
Washington ChannelThe Washington Channel is a channel that parallels the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It is located between the Southwest Waterfront on the east side and East Potomac Park on the west side. The channel is two miles long, receives outflow from the Tidal Basin at its north end, and empties into...
to empty into the
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
at
Buzzard PointBuzzard Point is an urbanized area located on the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers in the southwest quadrant of Washington, DC, USA.-History:...
. It is approximately 8.7 miles (14 km) long. The name "Anacostia" derives from the area's early history as
NacotchtankThe Nacotchtank were a native Algonquian people who lived in the area of what is now Washington, D.C. during the 17th century. Their principal village was situated within the modern borders of the District of Columbia, on the eastern bank of a small river that still bears an anglicised variant of...
, a settlement of Necostan or Anacostan
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s on the banks of the Anacostia River.
Heavy
pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
in the Anacostia and weak investment and
developmentLand development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
along its banks have led to it becoming what many have called "D.C.'s forgotten river." In recent years, however, private organizations, local businesses, and the D.C.,
MarylandThe government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by...
and
federalThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
governments have made joint efforts to reduce its pollution levels in order to protect the ecologically valuable Anacostia
watershedA drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
Course
The mainstem of the Anacostia is formed by the
confluenceConfluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the
Northwest BranchNorthwest Branch Anacostia River is a free-flowing stream in Montgomery County and Prince George's County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the Anacostia River, which flows to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.-Course:...
and the
Northeast BranchNortheast Branch Anacostia River is a free-flowing stream in Prince George's County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the Anacostia River, which flows to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.-Course:...
just north of
Bladensburg, MarylandBladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...
.
TributariesA tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of these sources include
Sligo CreekSligo Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River in Maryland. The creek is approximately long, with a drainage area of about .- Geography :The creek rises in the Kemp Mill section of Silver Spring in Montgomery County and...
,
Paint BranchPaint Branch is a stream that flows through Montgomery County and Prince George's County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the Northeast Branch, which flows to the Anacostia River, Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay....
, Little Paint Branch, Indian Creek; Upper Beaverdam Creek, Dueling Branch, and Brier Ditch. Tributaries of the mainstem Anacostia include
Watts BranchWatts Branch is a tributary stream of the Anacostia River in Prince George's County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The headwaters of the stream originate in the Capitol Heights area of Prince George's County, and the branch flows roughly...
, Lower Beaverdam Creek and Hickory Run.
Watershed
The
watershedA drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the river roughly covers 176 sq mi (455.8 km²) in eastern
Montgomery CountyMontgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
and northern Prince George's County, as well as parts of Washington, D.C.
History
Captain John Smith recorded in his journals that he sailed up the "Eastern Branch" or Anacostia River in 1608 in his search for the main branch of the Potomac River and was well received by the Anacostans.
The
Washington City CanalThe Washington City Canal operated from 1815 until the mid-1850s in Washington, D.C. The canal connected the Anacostia River, called the "Eastern Branch" at that time, to Tiber Creek, the Potomac River, and later the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal...
operated from 1815 until the mid-1850s, initially connecting the Anacostia to
Tiber CreekTiber Creek or Tyber Creek was a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.Originally known as Goose Creek, it was renamed after Rome's Tiber River as the lands southeast of then Georgetown, Maryland, were selected for the City of Washington, the new capital of the United States...
and the Potomac River; and later to the
Chesapeake and Ohio CanalThe Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
. The city canal fell into disuse in the late 19th century, and the city government covered over or filled in various sections.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, an extensive line of
fortsFort Stanton was a Civil War-era fortification constructed in the hills above Anacostia in the District of Columbia and was intended to prevent Confederate artillery from threatening the Washington Navy Yard. It also guarded the approach to the bridge that connected Anacostia with Washington...
was constructed south of the river in order to prevent Confederate artillery from bombarding the
Washington Navy YardThe Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, which lies adjacent to the river.
The Bladensburg Waterfront Park, part of the Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation, currently occupies the banks of the Anacostia near Route 1. The community boathouse is home to the
University of MarylandWhen the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
rowing crew, as well as Catholic University of America and several local high schools.
Pollution sources
One of the biggest problems facing the Anacostia River is raw
sewageSewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
that enters the river and its tributaries because of antiquated
sewerA sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
systems. The sewage creates a public health threat because of fecal coliform bacteria and other
pathogenA pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
s; it also impairs
water qualityWater quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
and can create
hypoxicHypoxia, or oxygen depletion, is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments as dissolved oxygen becomes reduced in concentration to a point where it becomes detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system...
conditions that lead to large
fish killThe term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...
s.
The Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) sued the
Washington, D.C. Water and Sewer AuthorityThe District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority provides drinking water, sewage collection and wastewater treatment in Washington, D.C., USA. DC Water also provides wholesale wastewater treatment services to several adjoining municipalities in Maryland and Virginia...
(WASA) in 1999 for allowing more than 2000000000 gallons (7,570,824 m³) of combined sewage and
urban runoffUrban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater created by urbanization. This runoff is a major source of water pollution in many parts of the United States and other urban communities worldwide.-Overview:...
(
stormwaterStormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
) to flow into the river via its antiquated combined sewer overflow system. In settling the lawsuit, WASA agreed to invest $140 million on pump station rehabilitation, pipe cleaning and maintenance and public notices of overflows.
Pursuant to a stormwater discharge permit issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA), the D.C. government is implementing a stormwater management program to improve water quality in the Anacostia. The governments of Montgomery County and Prince George's County also operate stormwater management programs in their respective jurisdictions.
In late 2004, AWS and other organizations announced plans to sue the
Washington Suburban Sanitary CommissionWashington Suburban Sanitary Commission provides safe drinking water and wastewater treatment for Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. It was established on May 1, 1918. It is the eighth largest water and wastewater utility in the United States. The WSSC serves about 1.8 million...
(WSSC) over similar problems with river contamination from the Maryland suburbs. According to WSSC, more than 4000000 gallons (15,141.6 m³) of raw sewage were released into Anacostia tributaries between January 2001 and June 2004.
Another large source of river pollution is the
Washington Navy YardThe Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, which is sited alongside the river and is believed to be a source of
PCBPolychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
contaminants in the river and sediment.
In May 2009, an innovative device called the Bandalong Litter Trap was placed in the Watts Branch tributary of the Anacostia River. The trap was unveiled by Mayor Fenty as part of the Mayor's Green DC Agenda. In six months, it removed over 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) of floatable litter from the river.
See also
- 11th Street Bridges
The 11th Street Bridges are a pair of one-way bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. The southbound structure is officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure is officially named the 11th Street Bridge. The bridges convey...
- Anacostia
Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Its historic downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue It is the most famous neighborhood in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, located east of the Anacostia River, after which the...
(neighborhood in Washington, DC)
- Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the South Capitol Street Bridge, carries South Capitol Street over the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. It was constructed in 1950 and named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass...
- John Philip Sousa Bridge
The John Philip Sousa Bridge is a bridge that carries Pennsylvania Avenue across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It has partial interchanges with unsigned Interstate 695 at its western terminus and with District of Columbia Route 295 at its eastern terminus.The first bridge at that...
- List of rivers of Washington, D.C.
- List of rivers of Maryland
- Nationals Park
- Whitney Young Memorial Bridge
The Whitney Young Memorial Bridge is a bridge that carries East Capitol Street across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. Finished in 1955, it was originally called the East Capitol Street Bridge. It was renamed for civil rights activist Whitney Young in early 1974...
External links