Sewage in Rock Creek Park
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KDinkleMom
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Hello. I am a local resident in the DC area. Everyday, I take my three dogs on a walk in Rock Creek Park with my DD. I was just wondering if anyone has noticed the sewage in parks? It's disgusting and smells horrible! I love walking in the parks but I'm not sure I can take it anymore. I've looked into the topic and it seems like DC Water has launched a project (Clean Rivers Project) to help take care of the issue, but it's going to take a long time to finish. Honestly, I am outraged that it took DC this long to address the issue, and it will take them even longer to repair it. Not only is the sewage disgusting, but it also harms the environment and contains E. Coli bacteria. Ridiculous! Do better DC Water.
Anyway, has anyone else noticed this issue? I'm sure I'm not the only one... K. Dinkle |
Anonymous
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Yes, so most of DC is built on what is called a Combined Sewer System. That basically means the household drains and storm water drains all go to the same place, the treatment facility at Blue Plains, which is a world class facility! The good things about a Combined Sewer are that polluted run off goes to be treated and erosion along the stream is somewhat mitigated. The bad thing is that in heavy rain events, the sewers are designed to overflow into Rock Creek and the Potomac. There’s actually a light by the Thompson boat house that indicates if there’s an overflow happening. But really just don’t go in the creek or river after heavy rains.
The solution is to a) slow down the storm water with rain gardens, etc and b) build giant tunnels to hold water during major rain events and give Blue Plains time to catch up. That’s what the big project is doing. These aren’t sewage “spills,” they’re by design. You happened not to know about it - that’s because you live in America and you can mostly rely on infrastructure to be invisible and reliable. Your outrage is mostly from being new to the party. We can thank our local Congressional representatives, several administrations, the EPA and all of the Chesapeake watershed states for the big 2014 agreement to reduce pollutants in our water, which includes the big sewer project that will benefit Rock Creek. Big important things move slowly and aren’t always top of mind. |
KDinkleMom
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I do know how the system works, but thank you. I may be new to the party, but hopefully I still know a little but about what I am talking about! I just wish this problem had been implemented sooner - my research found that this issue had been going on for a hundred years! In addition to the overflows, the pipes are in disrepair and leak raw sewage into the water. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful that DC Water is tackling this issue, but I can't help but be a little frustrated it took so long and that there may be some other issues that the project overlooks. I have some friends in MD who also live near branches of the park. I wonder if MD plans to address the issue anytime soon? Anyway, the weather is so great! Don't let the raw sewage leaking into our parks and watersheds stop you from enjoying the sunshine! |
Anonymous
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It’s not an “issue” that’s 100 years old it’s the system functioning as it was designed to.
Here’s the Maryland plans, you’re welcome. Although I don’t know if there are any local parts of Maryland on combined sewer systems. https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/TMDL/TMDLImplementation/Pages/maryland-s-plan-to-clean-the-bay.aspx |
KDinkleMom
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So raw sewage, bacteria, and literal fecal matter in our parks aren't issues? |
Anonymous
That’s how the system is designed, and it has pluses and minuses. There’s always going to be “literal fecal matter” in the water because the world is full of animals who poop. Obviously it is a good idea to reduce the load from the sewers and that’s why there’s a massive infrastructure project happening as the result of decades of advocacy. It’s definitely not because you showed up, learned the bare minimum and declared that anyone should “do better.” |
Anonymous
| You can contribute by cleaning up your dogs' poo. |
Anonymous
+1 - Pick up your dog poop and dispose it in your trash. - Do not use fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide in your yard and home indiscriminately. - Have rain gardens that will pool the rainwater in your yard instead of become runoff and slowly sink into the ground, recharging the water table. A raingarden can be as simple as digging a ditch in the lowest point in your yard and planting vegetation that loves water there. I have recently planted a river birch in a rain garden bed and it is not only thriving but the general moisture level in my yard has also increased and has benefited all my trees. - Plant clover in your yard to provide food for pollinators and fix nitrogen in the soil. - Plog. When going for a walk, pick up trash and keep your enviornment clean. We all can do our part. |
Anonymous
I'm saying the minuses outweigh the pluses and that this project took too long to get started. I am very grateful that this project is happening given how many communities and ecosystems are affected. Just because the information is new to me doesn't make knowledge of the inner workings of the DC sewage system the bare minimum. I don't think the system was designed so that contaminated water overflows into our waterways. If it was, there wouldn't be a 2.6 billion dollar program to fix it. Continuing to educate myself and others is how change gets made, such as the Clean Rivers Project. Change is not made, however, by lurking on DC Urban Moms, "Anonymous." I just posted on here to see if others shared the same experiences and frustrations I have. Won't be doing that again. |
Anonymous
Yes, it “literally” was. That’s why the overflows into Rock Creek are there! |
Anonymous
| Do you pick up after your dogs in Rock Creek Park? |
Anonymous
Does your dog poop on the ground when you’re walking it in the park? Because people like you and your stupid dogs are the reason we have E. coli in the streams. |
Anonymous
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There are a couple of separate matters here. First, the answer to your question depends on where you are in the park. In the Piney Branch watershed, the respondent is correct that there's a CSO that releases sewage overflow by design into the stream and Rock Creek. However, the majority of the tributaries of Rock Creek have had separated systems for many years now. The smell may be venting from sanitary sewer lines running under the park; our system is gravity-fed and the tributaries are the lowest points in the systems, so that's where the lines are. DC Water is working on repairing those lines, but it is a very complex, slow and difficult process.
The Clean Rivers program is well underway. DC Water focused first on the Anacostia. There is an effort in Piney Branch to address the problem, and so far, DC Water has tried to reduce the runoff. However, it is likely that some sort of tunnel will be needed to capture and hold runoff before sending it to Blue Plains for treatment. Last, pets are no doubt a contributor to the persistent E. coli problem in our streams. However, it is very likely that leaks in the sanitary sewer account from the majority of the problem. We should begin to receive data on this in 2024 once the Soapstone Valley project is complete. |
Anonymous
| When it rains to much City of alexandria Va's sewers empties into the Potomac. This is common and acceptable around here to those running the show. |
Anonymous
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The city regularly monitors water quality in Rock Creek during the warmer months (when people/pets are more likely to be exposed to it).
Only occasionally in the days after large rains do Fecal Coliform colony levels reach above the +400-threshold that make water unsafe to touch. The rest of the time the levels of FC are well within safe limits. |