The Anacostia Watershed Society recently released the 2020 State of the Anacostia River Report, which tells the story of the health of the Anacostia River from previously-collected 2019 data. This report measures the overall health of the river by assigning a score and letter grade that takes into account several different water quality and remediation indicators. These indicators include dissolved oxygen, fecal bacteria, water clarity, chlorophyll a (measure of algae biomass), underwater grasses, stormwater runoff volume, amount of toxins, and trash.
Click on the 2020 report card to view the full image.
This year the Anacostia River earned a score of 63 (D), which is the highest passing score it has ever achieved! This high score comes after the record rainfall levels we saw in 2018, which increased the flow of stormwater runoff into our waterways. The fact that the measure of the Anacostia River’s health has come back stronger than ever speaks to the great resilience of our natural environment. For the Anacostia in particular, the resurgence of underwater grasses known as Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) combined with the environmental actions taken by local governments were major factors in the progress of its health. SAV provides essential habitat for a host of aquatic life, filters polluted runoff, and provides food for waterfowl. The Anacostia River had 92.6 acres of SAV in 2019, well surpassing the goal of 20 acres!
Monitoring the health of our streams and rivers over an extended period is important for several reasons. It allows us to determine what restoration efforts are working and pinpoint the areas where greater effort or different restoration tactics are needed. The data that is collected and analyzed reflects the environmental actions taken by local governments, organizations, communities, and individuals.
Everyone can play a part in reducing the amount of litter and pollutants that reach our streams and rivers! There are several programs that are designed to support individual initiatives to become better stewards of our environment. The Chesapeake Bay Trust is proud to partner with Prince George’s County Department of the Environment to offer Prince George’s County residents the Rain Check Rebate Program. This program allows eligible applicants to be reimbursed for installing one or more of seven approved stormwater management practices.
Below are several other Maryland programs that offer reimbursements for installing stormwater management practices:
- Anne Arundel County – Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee (WPRF) Credit Program
- Baltimore City – Stormwater Fee Credit
- City of Gaithersburg – RainScapes Rewards
- City of Rockville – RainScape Rebates
- Howard County – Clean Water Howard
- Montgomery County – RainScapes Rewards Rebates
*Please note: while site visits cannot be conducted in person at this time, many of the programs listed above are conducting virtual site visits. Follow the individual page links to learn more.
While we are practicing safe social distancing, we can do our part to better our environment!
