while the waters may look idyllic, a century-old sewage system and dangerously high levels of bacteria have made the urban national park unswimmable for decades. now, a team of volunteers is working to change that, one water sample at a time.

no-swim zone

d.c. residents know that swimming in the city’s waterways is not the best idea — in fact, it’s been illegal since 1971. lorde shocked concert goers and made national news last year when she claimed to float in the potomac before her show. there’s a stigma around the cleanliness of these rivers from decades of pollution, but in recent years, the waterways have been slowly improving.

the environmental protection agency has been trying to make the city’s waterways swimmable and fishable since the clean water act of 1972. while the original ten-year timeline for that goal passed forty years ago, the act set in motion a clean water agenda the city is hoping to reach in the next few years.

in 2019, city officials began floating the idea of relaxing or lifting the swim ban. but even after decades of cleaning up the waterways, environmentalists question whether the water is safe enough to open to public swimming. data from the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project is helping shed light on the state of the city’s rivers and streams.

watching the waterways

on a cool day in early may, the ground is damp and the water is high in rock creek park. it’s the first day of the 2023 water monitoring season, an overcast morning after several days of on-and-off rain.

landrum beard, community engagement coordinator at rock creek conservancy, sits under a picnic pavilion at a table lined with small red coolers for volunteers to pick up with their water testing kits. they’ll head out toward their assigned sites, marked with ribbons, along the creek and return with the coolers filled with water samples, which are taken to anacostia riverkeeper’s lab for testing.

anacostia riverkeeper launched the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project in 2018 to measure and track contamination levels in d.c.’s main waterways: the anacostia river, the potomac river, and rock creek.

with a $140,000 grant from the d.c. department of energy and environment, the project has grown into a collaboration between anacostia riverkeeper, alliance for the chesapeake bay, rock creek conservancy, and nature forward. the groups have trained almost 400 volunteers from all eight wards of the city, collecting more than 2,000 water samples from 2019 to 2022.

each wednesday morning from may to september — considered the outdoor recreational season — teams of volunteers take water samples at two dozen sites across the city and test for ph balance, e. coli levels, water temperature, air temperature, and turbidity, a measure of water clarity. they also note if they see anyone in the water, as many people and their pets still wade in the creek despite park signs warning against it. the results are posted each friday and updated in the swim guide app, which lets users check the water quality of nearby beaches.

most of the volunteers are consistent, beard says. there are some newcomers on this first day of the new season, but others have been a part of the program for years.

benita veskimets is one of those veteran volunteers. veskimets, who used to work in fundraising for rock creek conservancy, is in her fourth year of water sampling. “i’m really curious to see what happens this year,” she says. “last year, i feel like it was worse than the year before.”

only a few of the rock creek sites passed with safe bacteria levels last year, beard confirms. those were mostly on dry weeks, when there was little or no rainfall impacting the stormwater sewage overflow. this morning is not one of those times. after a rainy week, the creek is likely swimming with bacteria from runoff. not the best way to kick off the season, he admits.

rock creek park’s sewage problem

the root of this problem lies with infrastructure, and if you’ve ever walked through rock creek park after a rainstorm, you can smell why. 

after just half an inch of rainfall, hazardous waste and sewage flood into the creek from the city’s old combined sewer infrastructure. in this system, stormwater and sewage flow through the same pipes — and when it rains, they quickly fill up and overflow into the rivers. rock creek is considered dangerously contaminated when that happens, and recreators are advised to avoid the waterway for up to three days afterward.

volunteers have tracked that trend at the sampling areas. “all these sites, for the most part, have a storm drain a few hundred feet or so upstream from where the sampling site is,” beard said. “so after big rain events, we always see that the sites have extremely high bacteria.”

d.c. water is now working on a $2.6 billion overhaul to the city’s sewage system with the goal of redirecting some of these sewage lines away from the city’s waterways and back toward treatment plants. this plan, the clean river project, is set to be completed in 2030. 

in the current phase of the project, the national park service is teaming up with d.c. water to take on piney branch creek, one of rock creek’s main tributaries and victims of contamination. an estimated 39 million gallons of sewage and stormwater pour into the creek each year.

“the way to do it is to build bigger pipes under the ground that can handle all the sewage and the stormwater and keep it in the pipes and get it down to the treatment plant,” said steve dryden, a local conservationist who has worked in the piney branch area for years.

the city is expanding these pipes, aiming to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the three waterways by 96 percent. it’s part of a hybrid plan for rock creek that includes both traditional “grey infrastructure” — like basins, drains, and pipes — and new “green infrastructure,” such as rain gardens and permeable pavers in 365 acres of the surrounding urban areas. a pilot program for this green infrastructure plan reduced runoff into the creek by nearly one fifth, surpassing d.c. water’s goals.

but sewage overflow and runoff after rainfall is not the only contamination source in rock creek. the water quality monitoring project reports that some sites have had persistently high levels of bacteria even during dry weather, which may be caused by “outdated infrastructure, leaking sewer pipes, or uninvestigated point-source pollution.”

jeanne braha, executive director of rock creek conservancy, said this may also come from pet waste and houses or businesses with sewer pipes that are accidentally hooked up to storm drain pipes that flow into the creek. construction in the urban area is another contributor, veskimets adds. while the potomac and anacostia bacteria levels are a direct result of combined sewer overflows, rock creek’s contamination comes from several sources — making solutions harder to find.

one sample at a time

while solving rock creek’s water contamination problem is a long process, participants in the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project are ensuring that city officials and environmentalists have the data to help. 

the potomac and anacostia rivers have been slowly improving in water quality since the anacostia was once dubbed “one of the most polluted waterways in the nation.” people debate whether the rivers have recovered enough to be swimmable.

“i think we’re getting there,” said louis eby, a longtime water quality volunteer and former attorney advisor in the epa’s office of water. he’s seen a lot of progress in the two rivers, but remains cautious about rock creek.

“i wouldn’t swim in rock creek,” he said. “we’ll get there some day for rock creek, but not soon.”

sure enough, the rain in early may was a forecast of remaining challenges. both upper and lower rock creek sites reported unsafe e. coli and ph levels in the first week of monitoring.

still, citizen scientists will continue to keep tabs on the water quality each week. as soon as rock creek is finally swimmable, they’ll be the first to know. 

as the summer recreation season kicks off, people flock to d.c.’s waterways for kayaking, paddleboarding, and sightseeing — and one day soon, they might be able to safely swim in them.

taalib-din uqdah never expected to be an environmental activist — not in his wildest dreams. he was the kid who loved going to gas stations just to “stick my head out the back of the window and smell the gasoline.”

nowadays, uqdah is no fan of petrol — especially in public transit. the 70-year-old business owner, community activist, and washington, d.c., native is spearheading efforts to overhaul the renovation of the washington metropolitan area transit authority’s (wmata) northern bus garage in ward 4 of the city. in january, those efforts paid off when wmata announced that the northern bus garage will reopen with an all-electric bus fleet in 2027 — the first entirely electric, zero-emission garage in the city.

the commitment to an all-electric bus fleet represents a culmination of years of advocacy and community organizing. when wmata announced the renovation in 2018, the agency’s fleet management plan included buses running on compressed natural gas, standard diesel, “clean diesel” and hybrid fuels.
wmata considered all but standard diesel to be “clean fuel,” but even hybrid fuels contribute to the climate crisis. battery-powered electric buses provide more sustainable benefits by eliminating the use of fossil fuels, improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and lowering noise pollution.

the bus renovation debate

located on a large lot between d.c.’s sixteenth street heights and petworth neighborhoods, the northern bus garage — also known as the northern bus barn — is surrounded by residential homes and retail businesses on 14th street. the facility has been operational since 1906, first as a barn for electric streetcars and later for traditional buses.

by 2018, the bus garage was in need of repair. rather than locate a new lot, wmata chose to renovate the garage for convenience and proximity to a high ridership corridor. they planned to demolish everything but the garage’s historic facade on 14th street and construct a mixed-use development to house over 200 buses and about 50,000 square feet of space for commercial space. the garage was set to include infrastructure for 175 electric buses — but wmata didn’t have these buses, or any plan to make the switch to electric.

many community members weren’t sold on the plan. some wanted the bus garage gone completely. some wanted it redeveloped into a grocery store or affordable housing. others wanted it to house electric buses. residents living near the garage brought up noise pollution and health concerns, such as asthma, which they say trace back to the diesel fumes of the buses.

uqdah, who has lived near the bus garage since 1984, immediately took interest in the project. he saw it as an important factor in the community’s quality of life, and he created the northern bus barn neighbors to organize community members against wmata’s plan to bring gas and diesel buses back to the garage. red signs began popping up in residents’ yards proclaiming, “no! bus diesel fumes”

diesel in the air

uqdah was especially concerned about diesel particulate matter, a part of exhaust that contains gas and soot particles, and nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel-powered vehicles. air pollution from diesel exhaust has long been linked to adverse health effects including asthma, neuroinflammation, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, even in particle-filtered exhaust. in 2012, the world health organization classified diesel engine exhaust as “carcinogenic to humans” for causing an increased risk of lung cancer.

new research shows that exposure to diesel exhaust for even brief periods of time may cause cognitive impairment as well by disrupting the connectivity between brain regions.

and the impacts of air pollution disproportionately affect minority communities. in d.c. — which the american lung association gave a “c” rating for particle pollution last year — black residents are 126% more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than white residents as of 2021. 

ward 4 councilmember janeese lewis george cited this disparity in her remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the northern bus garage in january.

“when we talk about reducing diesel fumes in our neighborhoods, we know that it is both an environmental justice issue and a racial justice issue,” the councilmember said. in ward 4, the area lewis george represents, about 45% of the population is black.

uqdah and other community members have expressed their views in public meetings with wmata since 2019, with nearly 100 people sending messages to the wmata board about bus electrification at one meeting in october of 2020. many of those messages urged wmata not to reopen the garage unless the bus fleet would be fully electrified, often noting health concerns.

“i live in this neighborhood. my children have asthma. adding more diesel buses is a huge threat to our health and the environmental pollution is a terrible, terrible thing,” said resident blythe emigholz of sixteenth street heights. 

“we are very concerned. we’ve been making our voices clear at meetings, but it seems like there’s no response to the environmental concerns that have been voiced by these neighbors.”

a greener future

councilmember lewis george became involved in the advocacy as she was knocking doors on the 2020 campaign trail, hearing similar stories from countless ward 4 residents. once elected, she began pushing for bus electrification on the d.c. city council.

wmata got on board in june 2021, approving a plan to shift to a zero-emission electric bus fleet over the next 20 years. their aim was to replace the existing gas and diesel buses by 2045 in accordance with the 2018 clean energy d.c. act – the northern bus garage was set to house 150 of these electric buses. it was a step in the right direction, but many in the community were not satisfied with the far-off date. 

“two and a half decades is far too long to wait for public transit that aligns with our region’s sustainability goals and the urgent reality of climate change,” said lewis george.

city officials and community members continued negotiating, and in january 2023, wmata announced that the northern bus garage fleet would be entirely electric by 2027 — 18 years sooner than the initial date. the garage will feature rooftop solar panels that are expected to generate 726,000 kwh/year, electric vehicle charging stations for parking, and a leed platinum rating.

at the groundbreaking ceremony on january 25, councilmember lewis george acknowledged the efforts of community activists like uqdah and thanked them for pushing the initiative through. 

“an all zero-emission bus garage is a monumental step towards a sustainable future as we confront the urgent reality of climate change in our city, in our country, and across the world,” said lewis george. 

“this northern bus barn will make wmata, as it always has been, and dc, as it always has been… a national leader in providing green public transit that does right by our communities and by our planet.”

the electrification of the bus garage is just one piece in a community revitalization project that uqdah hopes will bring more business and affordable housing to the sixteenth street heights and ward 4 communities.

though it’s early in the season for the area’s songbirds, the chirps and calls of some species are a sign of what’s to come as temperatures warm and flowers bloom. but this spring highlights a challenging trend: fewer songbirds are returning to the park each year.

rock creek park has long been a hotspot for birders to watch the migration of northbound songbirds each spring. positioned along the atlantic flyway migration route, d.c.’s largest park is home to a variety of birds passing through each year on their return from the winter retreat to warmer climates.

“a key part of the park’s value is as a safe migration route for birds that are traveling north and south,” said bill yeaman, the national park service’s resource management specialist for rock creek park.

to the casual park goer, rock creek park seems inundated with birds each spring. but changing migration patterns and habitat disruption mean that songbirds are disappearing from the area, leaving conservationists concerned about the future of the park’s biodiversity.

the vanishing songbird

over 150 species of birds call the 1,754-acre rock creek park home. many of those species are migratory birds that inhabit the park during the warmer months and migrate south to central and south america for the winter. but each year, fewer birds are making the thousand-mile journey. a 2019 study revealed that the bird population of north america plummeted by almost a third since 1970, resulting in a net loss of nearly three billion birds.

one species falling victim to this trend is the wood thrush, a small, cinnamon-brown songbird with striking black spots — the official bird of d.c. the wood thrush population in the united states has decreased by more than 60% since 1966.

yeaman has noticed this decline in rock creek park. 

“wood thrush, which is a bird that likes to nest in the interior, as well as scarlet tanagers, red-eyed vireos, ovenbirds — these are interior birds whose numbers have dramatically gone down,” he said.

that loss has been traced primarily to the destruction of the birds’ north american habitat, where they spend roughly half the year from april to october in eastern deciduous forests. but their winter habitats in tropical forests from mexico to colombia are changing as well.

“the habitat in general for that kind of environment is shrinking throughout the country and certainly in central america… it’s a loss of habitat on both ends of their journey,” yeaman said. 

environmental threats

songbirds prefer dense, lush forests to breed in, and the loss of viable forested areas within the park has several causes. urban development has disrupted much of d.c.‘s once-forested areas, including the piney branch stream valley in the southeastern section of rock creek park. after the tributary was paved over to create piney branch parkway in the 1930s, trees that grew along the banks disappeared, reducing the songbird habitat.

human recreation within the park erodes the habitat as well.

“our biggest problem is what we call social or unauthorized trails, which have been created over time with more and more people in the park,” yeaman said. “it disturbs habitats, it compromises the integrity of the forest, and each trail has its own side effects in terms of protecting sensitive habitats.”

he notes that canine park visitors are a concern as well, as unleashed dogs wander through the woods and disturb the conditions off-trail.

vulnerable habitats exacerbate competition between species, and in rock creek park, a large deer population poses an issue for songbirds. in recent years, the park’s white-tailed deer population hit almost 100 deer per square mile — five times the national park service’s goal — which means that deer are overgrazing on trees like maples and hemlocks where songbirds live and feast on insects.

but while plants are dwindling in some places, they are taking over in others. invasive, or non-native, plant species such as bush honeysuckle, english ivy, and bamboo disturb the ecosystem by reducing birds’ native food sources and depleting the fertility of the soil.

“native plants are greatly compromised by invasives,” explained yeaman. “without that [native] food source, you’re affecting the food chain at the insect level, which is the basis for everything above them, including songbirds.”

when springtime comes too soon

new research suggests that ‘early spring’ may be affecting migration patterns as well — that’s the recent phenomenon of warm weather arriving earlier in the year, causing premature blooming and shifting the migration timeline.

migratory songbirds travel with the weather — if winter lasts longer, they’ll stay down south; if spring arrives early, they’ll head north with it. and as climate change accelerates, spring temperatures are beginning earlier each year. some regions of the u.s. are experiencing springtime weather an average of six to 18 days earlier than usual.

that means birds are shifting their migration patterns. songbirds with shorter migration routes like the pine warbler and american robin are picking up on signs of the changing seasons and migrating northward earlier, but species with longer routes from central and south america are falling behind. 

male birds are seemingly adapting to these changes better, returning to breeding grounds an average of one week before females. these gaps could pose reproductive challenges for birds and cause them to be out of sync with their fledglings’ food supply.

conservationists in rock creek park are worried about how songbirds will weather the changes.

“those fresh leaves that come out in the spring are very tender and don’t have as many toxins — they’re very tasty for insects,”  said steve dryden, a local conservationist and who has been involved with the d.c. audubon society and rock creek conservancy.

“if leaves start blooming earlier, and the insects start eating them earlier, that whole cycle gets thrown off and it might be bad for the reproduction of the birds. the birds are used to coming at a certain time in the spring. they may be too late.”

scientists are still tracking these seasonal shifts, which are changing with the effects of climate change. in the meantime, experts are focusing on habitat preservation and restoration to ensure songbirds have a place to return to each year. 

preservation and protection

environmental groups in the d.c. area are working to protect and cultivate the forests of rock creek park that are still viable songbird habitats. 

when dryden learned about the plight of the wood thrush in 2013, he launched an initiative to help restore songbird habitats in the park. today, rock creek songbirds has raised over $150,000 and planted more than 600 native trees in rock creek parks’s piney branch.

working with local schools and community groups, dryden has become a steward of piney branch by creating lush habitats that support not only songbirds, but all biodiversity in the park. dryden and volunteers with rock creek songbirds remove invasive plants, clean up litter, plant new trees, and monitor the restoration projects.

rock creek songbirds has been a steward of the piney branch area of rock creek park since 2013 when their founder, steve dryden, heard about the disappearing habitat of the city’s official bird, the wood thrush. the organization works with local schools and community groups to plant trees and create areas catered to songbird habitation.

about photo

zoe swiss

dryden and his dog, teddy, regularly visit the restoration area to check up on the plants and animals. he picks up some strewn beer cans and makes a note to repair part of a fence that’s fallen down. although the wood thrush was the original impetus for his project, he’s interested in strengthening the biodiversity of the whole park. “when you get right down to it, if you’re improving the habitat for one species, you’re improving it for many,” he said.

about photo

sophie kahler

one of rock creek songbirds’ restoration projects lies just yards off piney branch parkway near rock creek park’s picnic pavilion 29. the area was originally a heavily forested stream valley but was closed off to create piney branch parkway in the 1930s followed by residential, commercial, and other urban development. from the road, the area looks unassuming, but dryden and volunteers have spent years planting trees, grasses, and other plants to restore the wetland habitat.

about photo

zoe swiss

the organization has planted more than 600 native trees in the piney branch area in the past decade. the region was once a biodiverse “magnolia bog” home to sweetbay magnolia, highbush blueberry, sphagnum moss, and other plants that grow in the swampy acidic soil.

about photo

sophie kahler

rock creek songbirds sources saplings from earth sangha, a non-profit nursery in alexandria, virginia. earth sangha exclusively grows trees native to local forests and meadows as a way to help native species flourish and to practice the buddhist value of conservation. dryden and the volunteers at rock creek songbirds choose trees that attract butterflies and other insects that are a food source for songbirds.

about photo

zoe swiss

the organization places tree guards around newly-planted saplings to protect their young trunks from animals like deer, who rub their antlers on the bark.

about photo

sophie kahler

one native plant that helps prevent deer browse is northern spicebush, named for the spicy taste that deer dislike. the plants bloom glossy red berries that songbirds eat in the spring.

about photo

zoe swiss

dryden samples the watercress that grows in the piney branch area. animals like ducks and deer also eat the slightly peppery vegetable.

about photo

sophie kahler

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