Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. went swimming in a D.C. creek Sunday, despite a yearslong warning against wading in the contaminated waters.
Kennedy posted on X that he and several family members, including grandchildren, hiked in Georgetown’s Dumbarton Oaks Park on Mother’s Day.
RFK Jr. also said he and his grandchildren swam in Rock Creek there, posting pictures of himself completely submerged in the water.
Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson, and a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat and Cassius in Rock Creek. pic.twitter.com/TXowaSMTFY
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 11, 2025
Kennedy’s X post earned itself a “community note” attached to it, stating: “Swimming in Rock Creek is dangerous and prohibited by the National Park Service, as the creek contains dangerously high bacteria levels.”
The National Park Service has explicitly said swimming and wading in Rock Creek is not allowed due to high bacteria levels that are hazardous for human health.
D.C. Water has also warned that during heavy rains the combined sewage system overflows often sends waste into Rock Creek and other District water ways.
Swimming in most D.C. waterways has been illegal for decades due to poor water quality from that sewage run off.
Recently, events have been scheduled for swimming in the Anacostia River but are often canceled due to sewage contamination.
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