On the edge of the Anacostia River in Southeast D.C., city councilmembers, D.C. Water officials and folks from nearby neighborhoods celebrated the completion of a sewage and stormwater project that is meant to drastically help clean up the river.
“The impact of the Northeast boundary tunnel and the entire Anacostia River tunnel system will progress towards a swimmable and fishable Anacostia River,” D.C. Water CEO and General Manager David Gadis told the crowd at Anacostia Park Saturday morning.
The 13-mile long tunnel went into service on Sept. 15. It will provide an additional 90 million gallons of storage for combined sewage and stormwater that would typically overflow into the river or cause flooding around low-lying neighborhoods in Northeast D.C.
The tunnel crescents from Florida Avenue and runs along Rhode Island Avenue and ends near Congressional Cemetery.
“The tunnel system will reduce the volume of combined overflows to the Anacostia by 98%,” and reduce the number of overflow events from 84 to just two in an average year, Gadis said.
That’s because far less sewage will end up in the river, Gadis told the crowd at Anacostia Park.
Other officials were on hand to celebrate the completion of the project that began in 2018, including D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.
“The Anacostia became more of a toilet than a kitchen. And, and folks recognize that and began to fight back and fight back for our connection to our local waters. And we’re celebrating the accomplishments of D.C. water,” said Adam Ortiz, EPA Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic.
Trey Sherard with Anacostia Riverkeeper said they are planning several swims in the river for next year, after this year’s weather did not allow for them.
But with the project’s completion, the area is now on the leading edge when it comes to cleaning up local waters, Sherard said.
“We’ve got a group from Vietnam coming out this coming week to hear about where our problems overlap, and where this watershed has led with solutions,” Sherard said. “This is one of the biggest ones that we can point to and it is an incredible feeling.”
