Water quality monitoring helps us better understand and document the general water quality conditions of the Anacostia River.
What is Snapshot Monitoring?
Snapshot monitoring captures data at a single point in time. For our purposes, it entails collecting a grab sample (such as dipping a sampling bottle or submerging a probe) from the river for analysis.
The grab sample tells us exactly what was in the water at the exact moment it was collected. The reality is that snapshot monitoring doesn’t tell us what the water was like two hours before the sample collection or what it will be like tomorrow. It is a single “frame” in the life of the river.
What gets measured?
AWS monitors the tidal Anacostia River from the Bladensburg Road Bridge to the mouth of the Anacostia River from June through October. There are 9 monitoring stations one mile apart. The parameters monitored are listed below:
- pH
- Water temperature
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Conductivity
- Secchi Disk Depth (Water Clarity)
- E. coli
Snapshot Monitoring Station Map
Select a marker to view current water quality data
Since 2020, E. coli is monitored only at Bladensburg, Route 50, Benning, and 11th Street sites
