Cleaning Up the Anacostia
Wednesday, January 17, 2007; Page A18
The condition of the Anacostia River is truly deplorable for all of the reasons mentioned in the Jan. 9 front-page article "Polluted Waters Stain D.C.'s Shining Vision."
But problems such as runoff and trash must take a back seat until the worst culprit -- raw human waste -- is corrected. Untreated human waste is a public health threat.
The 20-year time frame for addressing this problem given by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority is unacceptable. We are not a Third World country. It is incomprehensible that in 2007 a major waterway in the nation's capital would still be contaminated with raw sewage. The bulk of tax revenue from the new businesses, the new baseball stadium and all of the other development underway near the river should go directly toward bringing the sewer system up to the standards of a civilized nation.
The Blue Plains sewage plant in Southwest is among the largest advanced water treatment plants in the country. But it can process only the sewage it receives, not the sewage that gets dumped into the Anacostia. Major infrastructure renovation is required. This is no small undertaking, but there is no other choice.
MICHELE P. LEONARDI
University Park
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