The Potomac is one of the most storied and studied rivers in America. Although it lacks the romance and grandeur of the Hudson and Mississippi, it is the nation’s river, closely identified with Washington, D.C. and our democratic heritage.
The environmental problems of the 385-mile long Potomac are as problematic as any imbroglio on Capitol Hill and the scientific record on the past and current condition of the Potomac River reads like a frustrating story of short bursts of improvement within a longer curve of development, degradation and decline.
Starting in 1890, when the Potomac achieved notoriety for the stench of its sewage within yards of the White House, until 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson labeled it “a national disgrace,” the river was largely a conduit for sewage from the rapidly expanding metropolis. Population growth and land development resulted in polluted waters, wetland loss, and groundwater contamination.