Anacostia River - Northeast Branch

College Park, Maryland

This site is near Calvert Road Park Playground.

A “green” rating is demonstrative of the E. coli levels at one point in time.

The Anacostia River is designated as a Class A waterway, which means primary contact, however the DC Department of Health (DOH) bans swimming in the Anacostia due to sewage overflows. The risk of high bacteria levels after a heavy rain storm is the only reason it is considered “unsafe” to swim in the river. The activation of the Clean Rivers Project on the Anacostia River is expected to prevent 80% of sewer overflow volume, getting us significantly closer to a swimmable river 365 days a year.

When there is a red "special status" update, there has been a combined sewage overflow (CSO) in the past 48 hours. This means it is extremely likely there are unsafe levels of bacteria in the river, and it is recommended to be extra cautious if you are close to the river or come in contact with the water.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on October 1st, 2020. Anacostia Riverkeeper, Inc. updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on October 2nd, 2020 at 5:49 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Anacostia Riverkeeper (ARK) staff, interns, and volunteers test water quality for citizen science water quality monitoring programs at access points along the watershed in DC and MD waters.

In DC, funded by DC Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), ARK runs a citizen science water quality monitoring program in partnership with Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Audubon Naturalist Society, Potomac Riverkeeper, and Rock Creek Conservancy. Testing will occur monthly at 22 sites along the Anacostia River, Rock Creek, and Potomac River starting in May 2020 for bacteria, water temperature, air temperature, pH, and turbidity.

In MD, ARK will have citizen science monitoring in the upper Anacostia watershed, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Corazón Latino, Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek and Friends of Sligo Creek. Testing will occur bi-weekly at 7 sites on the upper Anacostia watershed starting in June 2020. Each site will be sampled for bacteria, water temperature, air temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, and turbidity.

The District and county agencies recommend not swimming in the water for 48 hours after a rain event of 0.5 inches or more. There is a current DISTRICT-WIDE SWIM BAN so even if a site is “green” or considered passing, do NOT swim there. Avoid wading and playing in the water as well, as hand to mouth transmission can occur after touching contaminated water.

The main water quality parameter reported is E. coli, a fecal coliform. E. coli is measured in terms of the Most Probable Number /100 ml water and is an indicator of fecal contamination and harmful pathogens that can cause gastrointestinal and skin infections. Samples recording less than 126 MPN E. coli /100ml are therefore considered "green", having met water quality standards set by the District for the geometric mean. Samples over the standard are considered "red" due to their failure to meet criteria, and the increased risk of illness. We report single sample values but refer to the geometric mean bacteria cutoff to be more conservative and protective of recreational health.

For more information about results, go to https://www.anacostiariverkeeper.org/water-quality/.

Water Quality Graph