Many people associate the Anacostia River with the District of Columbia, but did you know that two thirds of the river and its streams is in Maryland? The Anacostia River begins in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, and flows over the border into DC at the point where New York Ave. crosses its waters.

Why, you ask, should anyone care about this? Well, it is pretty well known that the Anacostia River has suffered from a long history of pollution and neglect. What is not clearly understood by many people are the causes of this condition. The pollution plaguing the Anacostia begins on the land, in our backyards and on the streets. In an urban area like the Washington metropolitan region, these impacts are magnified. In order for the restoration of the river to happen, the entire watershed area of the river must be addressed, and Maryland and DC must work together to achieve this vision.

A watershed is an area of land which drains into a river or other body of water. One way to understand how it functions is to compare it to a bathtub; when water falls onto the floor of the tub, it runs downhill to the drain because of the pull of gravity.

The drain is the lowest point, so naturally the water ends up in the drain. Take this concept and apply it to an area of land; when rainwater falls onto the land it will flow to the lowest point, which is always a river, stream, lake or other body of water. So, therefore, a watershed is the land surrounding a river which funnels rainwater into this waterbody.

The Anacostia River watershed is 176 square miles in area. It covers eastern Montgomery County, northern Prince George’s County, and from roughly Georgia Avenue eastward in the District. It is highly urbanized, supporting about 1,000,000 residents. Underground springs and seeps begin at the upper reaches of the river’s watershed in Maryland near Rt. 198, and flow downhill to form the streams which feed the main river. As they travel further downhill, they increase in size, and join together at various confluence points. The Northeast Branch and Northwest Branch are the two largest tributary streams of the river, and they join together in Bladensburg, MD, near to the Peace Cross intersection of Bladensburg Road, Annapolis Road and Baltimore Avenue. This confluence point is the beginning of the main stem of the Anacostia, and the river continues to flow southward into the District, until it meets the Potomac River at Hains Point. From there, its waters mix with the Potomac, and eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay.

When the land in a watershed is more than 10 percent impervious (paved over), the water quality of its river will be impaired. The Anacostia River watershed is over 50 percent impervious in many areas. Parking lots, streets, and rooftops all contribute to the pollution in the river by preventing rainwater from soaking into the soil. Instead, this water is sent into storm sewer drainpipes in the streets which empty into the Anacostia. All of the trash and litter from the streets and parking lots is carried through these pipes, directly into the river. After a rainstorm, the Anacostia River looks like a landfill on a conveyor belt as all of the street litter is carried downstream from the pipe outlets.

Fertilizers, pesticides, motor oils, gasoline and tailpipe emissions from our cars, settling particles from airborne pollution sources, household cleaners; all of these toxic materials eventually end up in the river. Rainwater washes these residues off of the streets, parking lots, rooftops and lawns around the watershed, and deposits them in the river. These substances cause many pollution problems for the plants and animals living in the water, as well as for the people living near the water and those who come into contact with it. After a big rainstorm of a half inch of water or more, the older sanitary sewers in the city become overwhelmed with rainwater, and they overflow directly into the river, untreated. This is very unhealthy, since this raw sewage carries harmful bacteria and other pathogens.

Used Oil Recycling

Dumping used motor oil (and other fluids) directly into bodies of water is never a good way of disposal. In addition to being deadly to wildlife, used motor oil adversely affects humans. It is ugly, smelly, and is difficult to remove once spilled. Oil can contain numerous toxic compounds like benzene, lead, zinc and cadmium. Fortunately, recycling removes these chemicals. It can then be used again in more lubricants and other products containing oil. 

Here are some facts*:

• If the oil generated by all do-it-yourself oil changers in America were collected and re-refined, it would provide enough motor oil for over 50 million cars each year. 

• Just one pint of oil can produce a one-acre oil slick on the surface of water. 
  

• Recycling 1 ton of used oil filters recovers 1,700 pounds of steel and up to 60 gallons of used oil. 

Below is a list of sites that offer used oil recycling in the Metro Washington/PG County/Montgomery County area. Please give the facility a call before you go. Remember to ask about specific instructions, regulations, and hours of operation.

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