Heavy rains swell Anacostia tributaries

While there were no reported sewage leaks into Prince George’s County’s Anacostia River tributaries, recent heavy rains have likely added tons of additional sediment and garbage into the waterways. Moving south to north along the Route 1 corridor, the Anacostia River’s tributaries include the northernmost tidal branches of the main river, near Bladensburg, as well as the Northeast and Northwest branches in Mount Rainier, Hyattsville and Riverdale Park, and the Paint Branch and Indian creeks in College Park. After this past weekend’s storms, the normally vegetated banks of many of these creeks are topped with fine sandy sediment deposited by the rising waters. “In a normal undeveloped landscape, with rains this heavy, most of that water would be infiltrated into the ground as opposed to running off, refilling groundwater and helping to keep the streams at a more consistent base flow,” said Matthew Gallagher, manager of community-based restoration for the Anacostia Watershed Society. “Now, most of that water ends up in our storm drains.