Water & Pollution Monitoring

Water & Pollution Monitoring

The Anacostia Watershed Society conducts regular comprehensive monitoring of water quality and pollution in the Anacostia River. Using data reported by government agencies as well as our own routine monitoring and water sampling, we conduct analysis and identify trends and threats that shape our strategy.  These analyses enable us also to track the progress of large-scale river restoration operations like the Clean Rivers Project and the Anacostia River Sediment Project in our role as the voice of the river.

We monitor several key indicators of water quality, including:

  • Amount of dissolved oxygen, which indicates the river’s ability to support aquatic life;
  • Fecal bacteria/ E. Coli. bacteria, which goes up after rainfall events.  Before the implementation of the Clean Rivers Project by DC Water, major storms overwhelmed the combined sewer system, and still stormwater runoff washes pet waste and wildlife feces into the river;
  • Water clarity;
  • Submerged aquatic vegetation, an important indicator of the river’s improving health;
  • Stormwater runoff volume;
  • Toxic sediments, buried in the river bottom and banks -- a legacy of a century of industrial activity along the river;
  • Trash, which we capture and categorize using trash traps we have installed along several tributaries;
  • Water temperature
  • Conductivity
  • pH

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