Groups pursue community engagement after Anacostia River Pool study documents the idea’s feasibility

by | Mar 20, 2019

By Sophie Austin posted March 19, 2019 on thedcline.org

Anacostia River from Nationals Park

A view of the Anacostia River from Nationals Park includes Diamond Teague Park in the foreground. It’s one of nine sites studied in the Anacostia River swimming facility feasibility study released in January. (Photo by Chris Kain)

A new study concludes that a swimming facility in the Anacostia River is feasible, suggesting that community interest should drive the project forward.

The DC Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) collaborated with the Anacostia Waterfront Trust, a nonprofit that promotes improvement of the Anacostia watershed, and SmithGroup, an architectural, engineering and planning firm, for the 78-page study, which was released in January.

Anacostia cover

The groups evaluated nine possible sites for an “Anacostia River Pool” and listed potential features, including a shallow pool, beach area, diving area and pool deck. The study states that water in the river will soon be safe for swimming the majority of days of the year as a result of restoration efforts undertaken in recent years. To make the water clear enough for swimming, a pool facility could harness technological and natural filtration methods, the study says.

Erin Garnaas-Holmes, the project director of Anacostia Waterfront Trust, said taxpayers who provide monetary support for cleanup efforts in the Anacostia should realize the importance of the study.

“If we’re investing so much money into the river, what do normal people get for that? We get the opportunity to actually touch the water,” he said.

Garnaas-Holmes said the groups have been engaging recently with various agencies, including the National Park Service and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, to discuss steps forward. He said he’ll continue speaking to residents throughout the year to gain insight on how a swimming facility could benefit them.

Prior to his role at the trust, Garnaas-Holmes was an urban design consultant in Boston, where he worked on a feasibility study for a swimming facility being planned in Boston along the Charles River. He said the two projects share similarities; like the Anacostia River, the Charles has undergone various cleanup efforts to improve its water quality.

The study also cites comparable swimming facilities in cities around the world, including Paris, Copenhagen and Zurich, with proposed pools in New York City, London and Melbourne, Australia.

Lap pool with integrated vegetation
One of the concept drawings by SmithGroup included in the study shows a lap pool with integrated vegetation. (Rendering by SmithGroup)

The Anacostia study looks at the following potential sites for a swimming area:

  • Near Diamond Teague Park
  • Along Poplar Point
  • Adjacent to the 11th Street Bridge Park
  • Near the Anacostia Park Pool
  • Near the Anacostia Park Playground
  • Near the Anacostia Park Roller Rink
  • Kingman Island near Benning Road
  • Kingman Lake
  • Kenilworth north of Watts Branch

In selecting those locations, the groups evaluated factors including proximity to neighborhoods, suitability for diving and accessibility for pedestrians and vehicles.

Kingman Park resident Meredith Holmgren — a board member of Friends of Kingman and Heritage Islands, an organization that advocates for the health, protection and accessibility of the two islands in the Anacostia River near RFK Memorial Stadium — was happy to see that the Kingman Island area was evaluated as part of the study.

Holmgren said that she often goes to the harbor baths in Copenhagen, where her husband grew up and his family still lives. She said while she is unsure if she fully supports the idea of an “Anacostia River Pool,” she thinks a river pool could allow DC residents to interact with the parks and waterways in a new way.

“What makes me excited about it is that they’re thinking about how residents can access the area, engage with the natural environment and invest in the area,” Holmgren said.

Anacostia Pool study sites
A map in the report issued in January shows the nine sites studied as potential sites for an Anacostia River Pool, stretching from a site near Diamond Teague Park north to Kenilworth near Watts Branch. (Chart from “The Anacostia River Pool” prepared by the Anacostia Waterfront Trust and SmithGroup)

Gretchen Mikeska, DOEE’s Anacostia coordinator, noted that the study didn’t set out with an objective of identifying a specific site for the river pool. Rather, she said, the study was more of “a thought piece” that could kick off a selection process “driven by community interest.”

The study acknowledges the contributions of the Federal City Council — a business-led civic organization that established the Anacostia Waterfront Trust in 2014 — in addition to the National Park Service, Groundwork Anacostia and Anacostia Riverkeeper.

Merrill St. Leger, principal in urban design and planning for SmithGroup’s DC office, said the study partners saw the opportunity to collaborate as a way to “celebrate the health of the Anacostia River.”

The study notes E. coli concentration monitoring in the river done by Anacostia Riverkeeper, which documented multiple occasions in 2018 when much of the river was safe for swimming. Starting in May, the nonprofit will monitor water quality in the Anacostia with help from volunteers and a $140,000 grant from DOEE.

Last year, the Anacostia River passed a health check by the Anacostia Watershed Society with a D- rating, after failing annually for the prior 10 years.

Through the Clean Rivers Project, the DC Water and Sewer Authority has helped reduce sewer overflows, an effort that contributed to improvements in the water clarity, fecal bacteria and chlorophyll categories, according to the health check.

General Swim Area
A conceptual drawing by SmithGroup included in the feasibility study depicts a general swim area with shallow and deep areas to accommodate swimmers of various sizes, ages and abilities. (Rendering by SmithGroup)

The feasibility study also attributes improvements in the Anacostia to reduced debris and trash thanks to mitigation efforts such as the District’s 2016 ban on the use of polystyrene foam and other food service products that can’t be recycled or composted.

Last year, an amendment to the DC regulation that bans swimming in the Anacostia River set up a process to allow swimming events in DC’s portion of the river if the water quality isn’t considered a human health hazard.

Mikeska, who noted that DOEE has been evaluating sediment contamination along the river since the 2015 launch of its Anacostia River Sediment Project, said the goal of a swimmable Anacostia is aspirational. She said getting people to see the river as a “resource that they can use at all levels would be a really great thing.”

Garnaas-Holmes described community involvement as key to moving the project forward. He said that residents can look for updates on the Anacostia River Pool website, sign up for the newsletter, or contact egh@anacostiatrust.org or swim@anacostiariverpool.com for more information.

“There’s going to have to be a community of people that want this to happen. I’m enthusiastic about this because I know a lot about the Anacostia River, and I can see the potential,” he said. “The big challenge is going to be convincing normal DC residents that this is truly, actually a possibility.”

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