Reply to Sewage in Rock Creek Park

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[quote=KDinkleMom][quote=Anonymous]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. 
[/quote]

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! [/quote]

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