Environmentalists Protest Silt Buildup

Upstream sections of the Anacostia River, which in the 1800s ran deep enough to handle shipping traffic, are now so choked with silt that the water barely flows, environmental advocates said yesterday, calling for more efforts to keep sediment out of runoff.

Members of the Anacostia Watershed Society held a "beach party" at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, posing on lawn chairs on a sandy portion of the exposed riverbed. Even at low tide, some water flowed, but the environmentalists said it was only a trickle compared with historic levels, when there might have been 40 feet of water in the same spot.

They blamed the problem on development upstream, in areas of Montgomery and Prince George's counties that drain into the Anacostia. In these places, the environmentalists said, paved surfaces prevent rainwater from being absorbed by the ground and instead send it rushing away, scouring dirt out of creeks and stream banks.

"And there it is, right there," said Robert Boone, president of the watershed society, pointing at the dirt deposited in the riverbed.

The environmental groups sought to pressure Montgomery officials, whose plan for dealing with stormwater is up for renewal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, they said, they want the county to add more "green roofs," where plants help absorb rainwater and improve systems for trapping the runoff from parking lots.

County officials responded last night, saying they had made improvements like these and were working on more -- such as a plan to pay 1,000 homeowners to reduce the runoff from their homes and yards.

"Montgomery County is very proud of its stormwater management record," said Esther Bowring, a county spokeswoman.