.capitol streets.
/ Our River: The Anacostia /
THE BIG PICTURE FROM TOMMY WELLS
W
by Bill Matuszeski
and bought another canoe hen one asks apeake. The US Army Corps of Engineers log reand later a 19-foot day sailabout the removal boat and the DC Water skimmer boat are both or called the “Flying Scott.” covery of the essential, as are better controls on upstream sourcWhen he became the Anacostia es. That involves everything from reducing the use DOEE Director, he discovRiver, “Who of plastics in packaging to teaching folks that dropered an aluminum canoe in DC is in charge?”, the answer ping trash in the street or on the ground starts it on a that came with the job. He comes back, “Tommy Wells”. route to the river through the storm sewers. That is because he wears the two uses it to take government officials key hats as Director of the DC Deincluding City partment of Energy and EnvironCouncilmembers ment (DOEE) and Board Chair of and even Adam DC Water. And before he took the Ortiz, the EPA DOEE job in 2015, he had been Regional Adminsince 2006 the Ward 6 City Counistrator, out on cilmember. It is a love forged from Tommy Wells along the Anacostia, the river to make many years boating on and living Photo: Tommy Wells them aware of the near the Anacostia. potential of a restored Anacostia. His “I grew up along the wild and scenic Cahaguests are always surprised at the extent ba River in Alabama, and the family had two caband variety of birds and other wildlife on ins and 23 acres along a lakeshore with marshes in the shores. Spreading the awareness of the Minnesota for summers,” he tells me. He bought river’s existing and potential offerings to his first canoe at 16 and when he came to DC 35 years ago he was “impressed” by the Anacostia the public builds support for funding its Adam Ortiz, past Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties’ continued recovEnvironment Director and newly named EPA Regional Adminisery. And Maytrator. Photo: Tommy Wells Winter 2022 on Our River. or Bowser has asPhoto: Bill Matuszeski sured Wells she will always support the resThe part of the watershed on combined sewers toration efforts. has the recent addition of tunnel storage, which has The Anacostia is a wareduced the regular overflow of both sewage and tershed with many sourcdebris into the river to under five percent of what it es of pollution – even the was. Where there are separated sanitary and storm air emits chemicals (mostsewers, the storm sewers still empty into the river ly from burning fuels) that and take the trash along. And drainage of areas near cause harm. Much of the and along the river still enters directly with whatRiver in DC is tidal, and it ever trash and pollutants it is carrying. So there has difficulty flushing beis still much for businesses, homeowners and volcause of the pushback from unteers to do to reduce the runoff and the littering. the Potomac and the preAnother potential pollutant source is the revailing westerly breezes. suspension of pollutants in sediments that have setFloating debris is a spetled along the river bottom. This involves identicial problem and can take fying the hotspots and either covering or removing weeks to leave the river, unthem. Wells feels this part of the city-funded cleanlike on the Potomac, which up efforts is underway and in good hands. has a clear shot to the ChesIn general, Wells is seeing data that shows we
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