| :: Problems and Challenges :: Solutions and Innovations :: Partnerships :: Sub-Watershed Managed :: Land Uses Within the Anacostia Watershed :: Evaluation :: Additional Reference Sources ::
:: Introduction ::
"Located only 2,000 yards from Capitol Hill, the Anacostia River is one of the Chesapeake Bay's most heavily altered and toxic watersheds. PCBs, petroleum compounds, heavy metals, fecal material, and pesticides pollute the river. Only 6 percent of the area's original forests remain, and more than 95 percent of the tidal wetlands have been lost. Historic fisheries are gone, the remaining fish are unsafe to eat, and swimming in the river is dangerous" (http://www.geog.umd.edu).
:: Anacostia River ::
* The Anacostia River flows about 8.4 mi (13.5 km) from Prince George’s County in Maryland, and through Washington, D.C.
* It then joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Hains Point.
* The Potomoc then drains into the greater Chesapeake Bay and Tangier Sound.
* The watershed of the river roughly covers 176 sq. mi. (456 km²) in eastern Montgomery County and northern Prince George’s County, as well as parts of Washington, D.C. Tributaries of the Anacostia include Northwest Branch and Northeast Branch.
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:: District of Columbia ::
"There are estimates that 85 percent of the sediments from the Anacostia's tributaries are trapped in the tidal river - that is why controlling runoff from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as the District, is so critical. Soils and contaminants that run into Indian Creek or Northwest Branch end up in the tidal Anacostia - the problem remains how to curtail this runoff, especially when so much land was developed with inadequate stormwater controls." (http://www.mdsg.umces.edu) |
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:: Montgomery County, MD ::
In Montgomery County, says Wiegand, "our main emphasis is stream habitat restoration because we feel that the biggest problem in the Anacostia tributaries is the sheer volume and force of runoff." To counteract this impact, he says, "we've been putting in wetlands, we've been cutting off storm drains and intercepting runoff by manmade wetlands and bleeding the water into the creeks more slowly. Our goal," he says, "is to make adjustments by recreating habitat that was lost, if it is possible to do that."
(http://www.mdsg.umces.edu) |
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:: Prince George's County, MD ::
In Prince George's, says Coffman, our aim is to "mimic predevelopment characteristics of the watershed. We need to replicate those hydrological regimes throughout the watershed." While new developers must now meet stormwater regulations, he points out, those requirements don't exist for older development. "We have a huge watershed that is heavily developed, much of which was done without stormwater controls. We're dealing with a huge problem of retrofitting." What we need to do, says Coffman, is to slow water down enough to get more absorption and evaporation before it is discharged to the stream. |
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:: The watershed scale ::
"Any hope for reclaiming the health of the tidal river depends on improving the water quality of its tributary waters - two-thirds of the Anacostia watershed lies within Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Both of these counties have been making significant efforts to improve the quality of water and habitat in the streams that feed the Anacostia." (http://www.mdsg.umces.edu) |
Support for restoration of the Anacostia River started in 1987 when Prince George's and Montgomery Counties joined the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland and the Army Corps of Engineers in signing the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Agreement.
:: Problems and Challenges :: Solutions and Innovations :: Partnerships :: Sub-Watershed Managed :: Land Uses Within the Anacostia Watershed :: Evaluation :: Additional Reference Sources ::
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