Cleaning the Anacostia River

Yesterday, while cycling home after the rains I looked down into the Anacostia River and saw a trashy mess. It looked like oil floating on the river and, of course, trash. It always looks like this after it rains. All the storm drain run-off flows right into the river. Buckets, CD's, paper, bags, cans, foam, bottles and Lord knows what else. It's heart breaking to look at. This morning, while cycling into work I saw a wonderful site. Boats were out and they had a net that stretched from side to side catching the debris floating on the river. A step in the right direction that I am very happy to see. Take a look at the flat bed in the picture. That's a lot of debris they are collecting. Where they are collecting debris is only a very small part of the river near the Anacostia Boathouse.

• The Anacostia River is one of the 3 bodies of water of concern by the Chesapeake Bay Program for toxics-related contamination problems.
• The Anacostia River is a local, state and federal priority for urban watershed restoration activities.
• It's been estimated that approximately 20,000 tons of trash and debris enter the Anacostia River annually.
• Cleanup and restoration efforts for the Anacostia watershed began nearly two decades ago. Unfortunately it seems like priority to clean up the river is falling short of expectation.

Melvin Wylie