The presentation was made by Col. Peter Mueller of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Saturday Apr. 18, 2009 during an Earth Day rally at Bladensburg Waterfront Park for the 15th Annual Anacostia River Clean Up & Earth Day Celebration.
The 176-square-mile Anacostia River is a slow-moving waterway that begins in Maryland and flows through the District and into the Potomac River. DC WASA budgeted $196 million for improvements to a number of pumping stations and tide gates and for small sewer separation projects, all to reduce sewer overflows to the Anacostia River by approximately 40 percent.
"Although we are extremely proud of this achievement, the road doesn't stop there," said WASA CEO Jerry Johnson said. "The effort continues with a $2.2 billion DC WASA combined sewer overflow (CSO) program to reduce these wet weather discharges to the Anacostia River by a total of 98 percent over the next 15 years. This is a commitment that we've made to correct a long-standing problem in the District of Columbia," explained Johnson.
Also commenting, James Connolly, Executive Director for the Anacostia Watershed Society, said, Jerry Johnson has done a tremendous job to achieve the reduction to date and in leading the planning and groundwork for the remainder of the projects. These steps are dramatically improving the health of the Anacostia River."
DC WASA also operates two skimmer boats that pick up approximately 400 tons of trash and debris annually from the District's rivers. DC WASA is only one of several partners, including the District and Maryland, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, AWS and a number of environmental organizations, working to make the Anacostia a better river.
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