Norton Joins Conservationists Calling to Legalize Swimming in the Potomac

WASHINGTON — In honor of World Water Day and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Clean Water Act, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, joined representatives from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network at The Wharf’s District Pier, where a panoramic backdrop of the Washington Channel underscored environmentalist’s efforts to improve water quality to make the area’s waterways enjoyable — and even swimmable — again.

“I have been working for the last 30 years in Congress to clean up the Potomac River, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek, to make our water drinkable, swimmable, and usable,” Norton, who serves on the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, said. 

D.C. is one of the only cities in the U.S. where it is illegal to swim because of sewage and pollution in the waterways. 

Thanks to river cleanups, ecosystem regeneration, and other work by collaborative conservationists, including projects like the Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s 50 Million Mussel Project, Holmes said “a thriving aquatic ecosystem… of fish and aquatic vegetation have largely returned to the river. Paddleboarding is now enjoyed on the River, and D.C. now allows scheduled swimming events, if you can believe that!”

Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks also confirmed that the Potomac’s bacteria hazards are easing. He and his team have “been doing testing for three straight years, every single week, and we’re finding that there are plenty of days, and a lot of places more than 85% of the time, where it is safe to swim in this river.” 

But while the Potomac River has come a long way, there is still work to be done. Holmes cited new pollutants like microplastics and chemical contaminants from household products that are nearly impossible to collect and clean. 

“Innovative solutions… will be essential to maintain our momentum toward a fresh, free, and swimmable Potomac River,” she said.

To this end, she announced that she is running for chairmanship of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the next Congress. This committee is already working to write the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, legislation that has been developed and passed on a bipartisan and biennial basis since 2014.

“If I am chair of the committee… clean water will be a top priority for the committee,” she promised. 

Regardless, she announced that she has already requested that the next WRDA authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study on public swimming options in the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers as well as require the Corps to prepare cost estimates for any and all feasible public swimming areas along D.C. waterways.

“The Potomac River is not only a destination for recreation, but D.C. is wholly dependent on the Potomac River for our drinking water,” Norton reminded. “Natural and man-made events could render the river unusable for this purpose.”

On this golden anniversary of the Clean Water Act, she and leading environmentalists hope to bring new dignity to what Lyndon Johnson once called a “disgrace,” lift the swim ban, and demand clean water in “the nation’s river.”

Kate can be reached at [email protected]