Watersheds in the mid-Atlantic region are getting "pollution diets" that focus mostly on nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen.
Scientists figure out how much of a particular substance a stream can handle, based on its flow and other factors, and then divvy up how much each entity that discharges the substance - a sewage treatment plant, for instance - can discharge in a given period of time.
But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland are taking things a step further by recently announcing a "trash diet" for the Anacostia River. Officials said it was the first interstate river in the nation with such a Clean Water Act trash limit.
The new limit requires capturing or removing more than 600 tons (1.2 million pounds) of trash from the watershed annually. If you figure that most of it is plastic bottles, that's one heck of a lot of bottles.
The plan of attack is mostly to address the storm sewer systems, which allow stormwater to wash litter through the system and into the river.
The action contributes to the larger goals of the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative: www.fergusonfoundation.org/trash-initiative/trash-index.shtml.
By SANDY BAUERS
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Visit Sandy Bauers' blog at http://go.philly.com/greenspace.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/04/1856402/dcs-anacostia-river-goes-on-a.html#ixzz11SVaYBuL
ANACOSTIA RIVER REALTY: Introducing Fine EAST OF THE RIVER Living.
http://www.AnacostiaFineLiving.com
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