Legacy Toxics, Look Out!
 

Anacostia River.

Joining the efforts of many in returning the Anacostia River to an ecologically healthy state, the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is once again taking the lead on the issue of contaminated sediments, but this time on a much larger scale. DDOE recently announced that it will conduct a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) of the sediments in the entire stretch of the Anacostia River!

Green Waters, Nasty Waters

Mt. Rainier Storm Drain Painting Call for Artists

As spring arrives and the accompanying rains begin to fall, our attention might be drawn to all the water flowing over the impervious surfaces and into the storm drains surrounding us near our homes, offices, and everywhere else we look. The storm drains are not much to look at in most places -- but my capstone project, which I am undertaking as part of my position as a Chesapeake Conservation Corps volunteer, seeks to change that in the city of Mt. Rainier, MD.

I first heard of storm drain paintings when I was an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. Colorful patterns and designs started popping up all over the storm drains in downtown Lexington but, beyond a simple artist’s mark, there was no indication of what the project was about.

One of the artistic storm drains in Lexington, KY (Lexington Street Sweeper)

Hooray for our Earth!

Anacostia River seen from Bladensburg Waterfront Park.

Exploring the Pine Barrens of the Watershed

When you hear about pine barrens you think about New Jersey, but we actually have pine barrens here in the Anacostia watershed! An excellent description of this and other ecosystems present in the watershed can be found in the journal of the Maryland Native Plant Society, Marilandica. For more information click on this link and scroll down to the Spring 2008 issue of the journal and you will find the article entitled "Conservation Priorities and Selected Natural Communities of the Upper Anacostia Watershed" by Simmons et al.

The 225-acre Greenbelt Forest Preserve was officially established in 2003 after many years of struggles by a local group of residents of Greenbelt to preserve this important forests located right north of the beltway.

Public Meeting on March 2 for the Pepco Benning Road Investigation

Pepco Benning Road Power Plant

The DC Bag Fee Is Cleaning Up the Anacostia River

By Bradley Kennedy

Nash Run is one of the dirtiest streams in the Anacostia River watershed. However, thanks to D.C’s 5-cent disposable bag fee, one major source of pollution is finally on the decline.

“Astronomical levels of trash” and “dirtiest of all streams” -- these are phrases used to describe the humble little Nash Run, a small tributary of the Anacostia River. Nash Run starts in Fairmount Heights, MD, and runs through the Deanwood neighborhood of DC before emptying into the Anacostia near the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. It is one of the biggest contributors of the litter pollution impairing the Anacostia River. But a study on this stream over the past 4 years offers hope that the litter problem can be reversed.

The Effect of AWS' Meadow Restoration on Bee Populations

By Emily Morrow and Jason Martin

As someone who used to get stung at least once every summer throughout my childhood, I’ve never been the biggest fan of bees. But after interning at AWS my opinion may have been altered, I’ve learned about the benefits of bees and the work AWS is doing in order to promote and increase bee species.

Despite the bad press bees get, they’re actually more of a benefit than a nuisance. Bees are important pollinators for our plants and, without them, researchers suspect that one-third of our agricultural crops could fail (Baker). Without bees, many of our flowering plants could not produce the important fruits, vegetables, and nuts that we rely on for food (Smith). Almost 100 types of crops require pollination by honeybees and, economically speaking, researchers estimate that the economic value of work done by bees is $215 billion worldwide and $14 billion in the United States alone (Cox-Foster).

Stormwater pollution case in Virginia misses the point

A recent Clean Water Act case in northern Virginia has been capturing attention because it deals with the regulation of stormwater pollution. The case, Virginia Department of Transportation versus Environmental Protection Agency (PDF), is broken down nicely by AWS colleague Jon Devine of the Natural Resources Defense Council on their Switchboard blog:

At its core, the decision said that the Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t use stormwater volume as a proxy for sediment pollution when developing a cleanup target (known in Clean Water Act jargon as a “total maximum daily load” or “TMDL”) for Accotink Creek, a tributary to the Potomac River.

Are you AWARE?

I guess a better question would be: are you AWARE of the state of the Anacostia River tidal wetlands? From being considered "malarial swamps" in the early 20th century the Anacostia wetlands have a (relatively) better connotation in people's minds; however, there is still a lot of work to do to restore them and to show people their value.