The Changes in Water Quality and Pollution Control in the Potomac River Overtime
The Potomac River, which spans D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. It is also the primary source of drinking water for residents in the area. For many decades, the condition of the river’s water quality was poor because the river was severely polluted. Since then, efforts have been made to strengthen the quality of the water. While the condition has become better in recent years, there is still a lot of progress to be made, considering it is illegal to swim in most parts of the river. The objective of this report is to present a chronology of federal, state, and local initiatives that have been enacted to address the water contamination and pollution that has plagued the Potomac River for decades.
There are a variety of factors that have led to the pollution crisis in the river. Contamination began at the turn of the 1800s with the expansion of agriculture and industrialization. The waterways became a convenient dumping ground for waste and byproducts because few people realized that this water was used as a significant drinking source downstream. According to potomacriver.org, “The United States Public Health Service (US PHS) began conducting sanitary surveys of the Potomac River in the Washington, DC area as early as 1894” (Jaworski). The government has been aware of the water condition for more than a century, but the problem is far from solved.
The federal government took the first steps in beginning to address the pollution. Efforts began as early as 1940, when “the United States Congress established the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) to help the Potomac basin states and federal government work cooperatively to address water quality and related resource problems in the Potomac Basin” (Jaworski). The ICPRB is still very active to this day and serves in an advisory role to the governing areas and organizations that are involved in efforts to clean the river. They released their first report on the Potomac in 1943 to educate the public about the poor quality of the river’s water. The ICPRB report concluded the primary source of pollution was poor wastewater management.
The report released by the ICPRB started to raise concerns among federal lawmakers. In response to this attention, “Congress passed the first Federal Water Pollution Act (FWPA)” in 1956 (Jaworski). This act was the first significant step initiated by the federal government to control water pollution. The FWPA granted some government agencies more power to enforce pollution control, but more importantly, it also started efforts to build more advanced wastewater management plants. While this act was a significant step forward to control water contamination, it had some deficiencies and was subsequently amended several times over the next few decades.
The most significant shortcoming of the 1956 Act was that government officials had to navigate substantial bureaucratic red tape to take action against pollution offenders. For example, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare was in charge of intervening with polluters, but because of the precautions necessary “delay in obtaining the necessary requests or consents was to be expected, because copies of the board’s findings had to be sent to the interested state agencies, and those agencies would have needed time to study the recommendations” (Barry). Government officials recognized that existing laws were inadequate, and additional legislation was needed to address these concerns. Consequently, the Senate revised the law with new amendments in 1961. These acts were revolutionary thus far because now, “federal abatement authority was expanded to cover pollution caused or contributed to by discharges within the same state in which the “health or welfare of persons” is endangered” (Barry). This act authorized state and local governments to intervene on behalf of their citizens when they believed that their population was at risk. The changes established by the 1961 Amendments represented the first substantial steps in promoting change.
More than four decades had elapsed since the poor water quality of the Potomac was recognized, and the problem still persists. Despite all the laws and regulations designed to address pollution in waterways, further action was needed before the nation’s river could be considered safe. In 2000, city officials in Alexandria, Virginia, exposed a severe problem that had been previously ignored for two decades. The former Alexandria Gas Works, which was shut down in 1946, had been dumping creosote oil and coal tar into the river. Previous attempts to address the problem had failed, “so Alexandria officials announced […] that they are applying to join a state-supervised voluntary cleanup program” (Masters). Such actions address the existing problems of water pollution and are likely much more effective than legislation enacted to address a significant problem after it has become widespread. They are only a means of preventing future water pollution. This example demonstrates that substantial progress can be achieved when nonprofit organizations join forces with local governments.
Another marker of success in the Potomac River’s restoration was the effort to restore the American shad fish population. In the 1980s, the once abundant shad population was now on the verge of extinction in the river. These fish were essential to the environment and the local economy. After years of the population still in drastic decline, the ICPRB teamed up with local fisherman and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in 1995 to launch the American shad population restoration. The organizations worked together for years to strategically restock the fish population in the river. By 2002, the shad population in the river was at a stronghold, so much so that eggs were collected and dispersed to other local waterways in a similar restoration effort. The results demonstrate that these “recoveries are encouraging signs that investments made in water quality improvements, harvest management, habitat access, and fisheries restoration are working” (Cummins). While this project was not directly involved in pollution cleanup, habitat restoration is just as important. The teamwork and persistence demonstrated in this restoration prove that organizations have the power to join together and promote real change in the river.
Since its creation, the ICPRB has been the leader in initiating change on the Potomac River. They have led movements in wastewater regulations, trash cleanup, and even habitat restoration. In 1979, the ICPRB created the “Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (the CO-OP) that includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Federal government. The CO-OP played a key role in the development of the unique cooperative system of water supply management for the Washington metropolitan area” (ICPRB). Since multiple jurisdictions share the Potomac River, it is often difficult for one organization to take the lead and delegate responsibility. Despite this, the ICPRB has overcome many legislative and financial barriers to make improving the quality of the Potomac River, its top priority. Without the formation of such an essential organization, the progress made to restore the Potomac River would not have been achieved.
The Potomac River is a national landmark that provides millions of residents with drinking water as well as a habitat to an enormous population of fish and wildlife which reside in and around the water. The river is also economically important to many fishermen and nautical businesses. At the turn of the 20th century, the water quality was mediocre at best. Decades later, efforts to restore the river appear to be having an impact. Now in the 21st century, the water quality in the Potomac River has improved substantially. The cooperation of local governments, coupled with those of water restoration organizations, has demonstrated promising efforts in transforming the river. If initiatives launched by these organizations along with local volunteers were to continue, the Potomac River will likely once again be the historic landmark it is meant to be.
