Pollution
Gerald Martin
Local Pastor
Policies that tolerate industrial agriculture, unchecked development, and reckless deforestation — pollute our local waterways and the people who depend on them.
The Potomac River should be a healthy resource for all. While some communities enjoy the benefits of restored natural areas, many others are still fighting for clean water, and access to safe swimming and fishing. Those in the Washington, DC area who are forced to live with frequent sewage overflow flooding, poor tree canopy, and polluted streams are disproportionately low-income and/or communities of color.
How you can help
Tell your local, state, and federal decision-makers to hold polluters accountable and prioritize the health of frontline communities.
River Health Indicators & Analysis
Sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus are top pollutants to the Potomac River. Contributed by various sources including agricultural runoff and urban stormwater, excess nutrients and sediment pollute streams with toxins, create turbid waters that block out light, reduce underwater vegetation, and endanger people and animals alike. Equally troubling, excess nutrients can foster dangerous, bacteria-ridden algal blooms, threatening recreation spots and sources of drinking water.
Encouragingly, regional conservation efforts have successfully resulted in a steady decline of sediment and nutrients in the Potomac River. Based on current published data, the Potomac is either meeting or on pace to meet its 2025 Chesapeake Bay Program (EPA) pollution reduction goals.
Nitrogen has been a key pollutant of concern in the Potomac watershed since populations started moving into the area en mass, further developing the land while increasing the amount of nonpoint and point source pollution. Elevated Nitrogen levels in the Potomac are often linked with an increase in fertilizer use and excessive agricultural runoff into local streams and waterbodies. If left unchecked, high Nitrogen levels can lead to degraded habitat conditions for aquatic life in the form of eutrophication, algal blooms, and low dissolved oxygen levels.
The most recent Nitrogen reduction data for the Potomac reveals a positive trend with the watershed 92% of the way towards meeting its Nitrogen reduction targets as of 2023. In 2023 projected Nitrogen loads in the Potomac were estimated at 52.2 million pounds, barely missing watershed-wide targets by 4.1 million pounds. Of that 52.2 million pounds, 46% originated from agricultural sources, supporting the established consensus in the watershed that agriculture is the primary contributor to elevated Nitrogen sources in the watershed. However, when analyzing year-over-year mitigation efforts, progress is evident as Nitrogen originating from agricultural sources has dropped almost 3% in the past five years. To ensure this progress continues we must continue to focus on the funding and installation of best management practices (BMPs) across the watershed in tandem with watershed outreach and education efforts.
Urban point and nonpoint source pollution (what we call, polluted runoff) has often been linked as a major contributor to increased phosphorus levels in streams and rivers; however, as data from the Potomac shows, agricultural runoff is still a primary contributing factor, despite the downward trend discussed above. In 2023, 35% of phosphorus loads were attributed from agricultural sources while natural and urban sources made up 33% and 19% of watershed-wide phosphorus loads, respectively.
Thankfully, efforts to reduce Phosphorus pollution across the watershed are helping as at the time of publication, the Potomac is currently meeting 2025 reduction targets with 3.4 million pounds of Phosphorus estimated in 2023. This mark means that as of 2023, the Potomac was meeting 114% of its goal, well on pace to comfortably meet targets by 2025. While this progress is encouraging, increased runoff due to more frequent intense storms or flooding is a possibility as we look at future climate scenarios, marking the importance of local runoff reduction efforts to reduce nonpoint source pollution from agricultural areas across the region.
Sediment pollution can have dramatic and cascading effects on water quality and habitat health across a watershed. From smothering habitats to serving as a vector for other pollutants, sediment reduction to levels that are healthy for aquatic life are essential for any thriving watershed. Since 1985 sediment loads in the Potomac have steadily decreased to the point where in 2023 the annual sediment load in the Potomac was estimated at 4.57 billion pounds, indicating that the Potomac is meeting 105% of its sediment reduction goal.
