Cleaning Our Waterways

We are dedicated to making local rivers cleaner and safer for everyone. DC WASA operates two skimmer boats five days a week to remove floating debris and trash from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, to improve the quality of waterways within the DC WASA service area and beyond.

The skimmer boats have full-time crews to pick up debris from 60 miles of shoreline. The boats capture and remove 60 tons or more of floating debris and trash a month, making our rivers cleaner and safer for everyone, including their natural inhabitants—fish, waterfowl, amphibians, and aquatic plants.

DC WASA recently invested in restoring fabridams to reduce the amount of debris that reaches the waterways. Prior to the restoration of these dams, the DC WASA skimmer boats were removing closer to 100 tons of debris per month.

In addition, DC WASA regularly cleans and maintains more than 27,000 catch basins, removing 23 tons of debris every day. Catch basins are the traps that catch debris and litter before they enter a storm drain. Download our schedule for this year's catch basin cleaning program (PDF 159 kb) .

You can help to reduce pollution in our local waterways by following these tips:

  • Don't throw trash and yard waste in neighborhood storm drains or catch basins—deposit them in the appropriate cans.
  • Don't throw trash on city streets or in alleys.
  • Report clogged storm drains or catch basins by calling the DC WASA Emergency Line at 202-612-3400.

If we all work together to keep our rivers clean and protect our environment, we can make our waterways healthier and safer for everyone.