{"id":2275430,"date":"2024-06-21T18:43:33","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T22:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/potomac-river-is-clean-enough-to-swim-in-but-dc-isnt-rushing-to-make-it-legal-2\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T18:45:42","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T22:45:42","slug":"potomac-river-is-clean-enough-to-swim-in-but-dc-isnt-rushing-to-make-it-legal-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/potomac-river-is-clean-enough-to-swim-in-but-dc-isnt-rushing-to-make-it-legal-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Potomac River is clean enough for swimming, yet DC is slow to legalize it"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpotomac-river-is-clean-enough-to-swim-in-but-dc-isnt-rushing-to-make-it-legal-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2275430&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Washington, D.C., has maintained a ban on swimming in the Potomac River since 1971 due to historical concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/la-beaches-stay-open-despite-ocean-contamination-after-storm\/\" title=\"LA beaches remain open despite ocean contamination following storm.\">high bacterial levels<\/a> that could cause illness. Although recent environmental reports indicate significant improvements in water \u2064quality\u2014a three-year study\u2062 by a coalition of environmental groups found that \u2064certain areas passed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsoms-california-nearly-1-million-residents-lack-safe-drinking-water-audit-shows\/\" title=\"Newsom\u2019s California: Nearly 1 Million Residents Lack Safe Drinking Water, Audit Shows\">water quality standards<\/a> more than 80% of the time\u2014there is\u200c no \u2063rush by the city to legalize swimming in\u2064 the river.\u200b Locations \u2064such as \u2063the Washington Channel and the Tidal \u2064Basin\u2062 showed very high compliance \u200bwith water quality standards. Additionally, a major sewer overhaul by\u200c the District\u200c of Columbia Water and Seweribility Authority \u200chas further improved\u200d the river&#8217;s condition. Nevertheless, the\u200b legal\u2063 status of swimming in the Potomear \u2062remains unchanged as of now.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Washington, D.C.,<\/a> is in no hurry to make swimming in the Potomac River <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/regulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">legal<\/a> despite significant improvements made in the river\u2019s water quality and bacterial levels. <\/p>\n<p>Under Washington law, swimming in the Potomac River has been illegal since 1971. At the time, Washington enacted a swimming ban to prevent illness due to concerns about high amounts of bacteria in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and Rock Creek. However, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/01\/10\/dc-rivers-water-quality-swimming-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">report<\/a> from a coalition of environmental groups says that bacterial concerns are no longer a concern. The coalition\u2019s three-year study determined five locations along the Potomac River tested for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/potomac-river-is-clean-enough-to-swim-in-but-dc-isnt-rushing-to-make-it-legal\/\" title=\"The Potomac River is clean enough for swimming, but DC is slow to legalize it\">bacterial levels passed water quality standards<\/a> more than 80% of the time.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The overlook of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park lies in a tristate area with an hour drive\u2019s from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. (AP Photo\/Martin B. Cherry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWashington Channel (where the Wharf is located) passed 98% of the time; the Tidal Basin passed 97%; Buzzard Point (on the Anacostia) passed 85%; Kingman Island (on the Anacostia) passed 83%; and Thompson Boat Center (on the Potomac) passed 82%,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<p>A massive sewer project by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority has also led to a significant improvement in the Potomac\u2019s water quality over the past few years. While sewers had overflowed up to 80 times a year into the Anacasotia River, which flows into the Potomac, the D.C. Water sewer project is set to prevent 98% of overflows. The project will wrap up next year. <\/p>\n<p>The improvements indicate Washington could now have a basis to loosen its ban on swimming. \u201cThe public should have a right to do that,\u201d Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/01\/10\/dc-rivers-water-quality-swimming-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told<\/a> <em>DCist<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to Washington\u2019s National Park Service about the report, it was directed to the 1971 law, indicating no plans have been made to update the swimming ban. The District of Columbia\u2019s mayor\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s capital was formerly home to <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/21\/08\/16\/dc-streams-have-disappeared-where-did-they-go\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">vibrant waterways<\/a>, where residents enjoyed free access to clean water. As the city developed, it lost approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/collections\/89f7b328f7c0403e99a4ad2aec7395b5?item=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">70%<\/a> of its historic streams. Swimming holes, including one where the district\u2019s Union Station now is, have vanished.<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1646328\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1646328\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite notable enhancements in water quality and bacterial levels, Washington, D.C., remains reluctant to legalize swimming in the Potomac River. Since 1971, a law has prohibited swimming in the river due to health concerns linked to high pollution levels at the time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2275431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Potomac-River.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2275430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Potomac-River.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2275430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2275431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2275430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2275430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2275430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}