Bladensburg, Maryland - Nov 11, 2004

The Anacostia Watershed Society, with partners the Natural Resources Defense Council, Audubon Naturalist Society, and Friends of Sligo Creek, are preparing to sue the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) for illegally allowing sewers to overflow into Maryland streams and rivers. This sewage pollutes the Anacostia River and its tributaries and endangers area residents' health. Discharges of raw sewage into waterways are illegal under the federal Clean Water Act.

An improperly maintained sewage system also causes sewers to back up, filling local homeowners' basements with sewage. This is a severe nuisance, and a threat to personal health. Contact with sewage can cause skin infections and other more serious diseases. We want WSSC to overhaul its sewer collection and pipeline system and establish procedures to monitor and prevent overflows.

If you or anyone you know has experienced sewer back ups in the home or if your use and enjoyment of the river has been impaired due to poor water quality, please let us know by Friday, November 19th.

Please call Jim Connolly at the Anacostia Watershed Society at (301) 699-6204 or email us. We will need your contact information (name, street address, email address, and phone number) and the approximate dates of sewer back ups at your home. Visit our website for information on all of our programs and advocacy efforts-www.anacostiaws.org.

The Anacostia Watershed Society phone: 301.699.6204