In Washington, D.C., the city’s ‘forgotten river’ cleans up, slowly
By SUMAN NAISHADHAM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. is shorter, shallower and harder to navigate than the more famous Potomac, which cuts through the city’s storied landmarks and is steeped in Revolutionary and American Civil War history. For decades, the Anacostia was treated as a municipal dumping ground for industrial waste, storm sewers and trash. That contamination largely affected the communities of color that the river intersects. A $3 billion sewer upgrade in the city and decades of local environmental advocacy have brought improvements to the river, but change has come slowly.
