A crowd of boating enthusiasts gathered in an unfinished office above Washington Harbour last night to kick off a National Park Service study to determine the feasibility of designating a large segment of the Potomac riverfront in Georgetown for the development of new boathouses for non-motorized crafts. more ›

Local meteorologist Alex Liggitt reports the news that the aquatic portion of this weekend's Nation's Triathlon has been cancelled. more ›

We already knew that D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown was a hot yoga enthusiast. But a triathlete? more ›

Because of high water levels after the last week of showers, Maryland Natural Resources Police are asking boaters and anglers to stay out of the the upper Potomac River this weekend. The upper Potomac continues to have hazardous water levels. more ›

It's a good thing too -- even though we're nearing the end of a rainy week, the Potomac River is expected to crest at a level 11 feet higher than normal tomorrow morning. more ›

Phew, it's been a whirlwind day for D.C. Fire and EMS. After spending most of the morning arranging for a helicopter to land on a D.C. freeway to whisk away a Park Police officer who was hit while riding his motorcycle, several emergency workers were called on to handle two more big incidents this afternoon. Crews responded to a collision between a Metrobus and a school bus at the intersection of 17th Street and Benning Road NE about a half-hour ago; about five minutes later, emergency personnel and a fire boat were called on to rescue eight people who apparently fell from a boat into the Potomac River. No serious injuries have been reported in either incident, although a few people requested medical attention after the two buses collided in Northeast. more ›

A lot of weird stuff often shows up floating the Potomac River. (Our personal favorite? "Intersex" fish, which developed both male and female reproductive organs due to the dumping of several "endocrine disruptors" into the water.) But lobsters? That's a new one. But WTOP's Neal Augenstein reports that a whole bunch of them were seen on the shores of the Potomac down in Woodbridge. more ›

Sunday's Nation's Triathlon was a pretty big deal -- there have been claims that the number of registered participants -- including Mayor Adrian Fenty -- may have broken a Guinness World Record. The event, which involved a 1.5 kilometer swim, a 40 kilometer bike ride and a 10 kilometer run, was won by Robert Wade on the men's side (who finished with a 1:57:13) and Peggy Yetman on the women's side (she finished in 2:07:20). The Tri is always a prime opportunity to capture some of the best action photography in the District -- Swim Bike Run Photography, a collective of local photographers, was on hand and kindly allowed us to show off their work to the world. more ›

CNN originally reported that the U.S. Coast Guard had opened fire on a boat in the Potomac River this morning, but the incident was actually a training exercise. Given the exercise's timing and location, on the morning of September 11, near the Pentagon, at a time when President Obama was laying a wreath to honor the victims of 9/11, the incident initially caused panic across the area. more ›

The consensus on Sunday morning's coal ash spill in Luke, Md. seems to be that it coulda been a lot worse. Yes, 4,000 gallons of the toxic liquid ash leaked out of a pipeline over the Potomac River's North Branch, but the AP has already declared the spill doesn't appear to have done much harm, and fears about water safety in the D.C. region have been largely put to rest. But given the attention coal ash has been getting since December's catastrophic spill in Tennessee, this weekend's tiny-by-comparison accident is still making headlines. We highly recommend reading this now prescient story from the Baltimore Sun's Timothy B. Wheeler on how the state of Maryland has been welcoming certain kinds of coal ash disposal with open arms. more ›

Well, so much for the bright idea of utilizing local waterways to break through the Inaugural gridlock on Tuesday. According to WTOP, 40 Coast Guard vessels will be stationed south of the Wilson Bridge, in part to patrol the waters for intrepid paddlers who thought that they could beat the congestion by kayaking to the ceremony. There is a water taxi which you can take from Alexandria to Maine Avenue (tickets can be had here), but it is rather pricey. One also wonders: 40 vessels? Is there really that large of a contingency itching to kayak down the Potomac in sub-freezing temperatures? more ›

By now, everyone knows that some fish in the filthy Potomac River have developed both male and female reproductive systems. They've been dubbed "intersex" by the media, and we've all had a nervous laugh about how the pollution we've poured into the river is probably to blame for creating the first ever bi-gendered fish. Whoops! How were we to know? more ›

Happy Almost Holidays, Washington. With both Monday and Tuesday counting as a holiday for the federal government this year, most of D.C. is staring down a nice, long holiday break today. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, federal holidays are great for a lot of other reasons besides a day off - you don't have to feed parking meters, for instance. But The Examiner reports that that fact isn't stopping people from shoveling coins into meters on holidays anyway, especially those fancy new multispace meters: last Veterans Day, the city collected nearly $1,500 from multispace meters. DDOT says it is going to put stickers on the new meters along K Street to remind people that they don't have to pay on holidays. more ›

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It's almost Turkey Time, but that doesn't mean DCist readers weren't posting good stuff. The comment of the week goes to voteprime, who responded to the morning roundup article about intersex fish: Potomac River's Father: D+? D+?! Why can't you be more like you cousin, C&O Canal! Potomac River: But Dad, I thought you'd be proud of my intersex fish. Nothing I ever do is good enough for you! grumble grumble...stupid canal...grumble grumble...outdated mode of... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Recent increases in gun-related crime in the city seems to be today's main topic of news, just as the Supreme Court may announce today whether it intends to take another look at D.C.'s handgun ban. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has scheduled a press conference this morning to address the District's position on its gun safety law, but in the meantime the Washington Post is questioning the law's effectiveness and just last... more ›

The Anacostia River, which has been blamed for altering the gender of fish and producing a funky smell, just got funkier. The Post is reporting that raw sewage is flowing into the Anacostia River from a leak in a major sewer line that carries untreated waste from a pumping station in Southeast Washington, D.C. Thanks, WASA! The cause and size of the leak was not immediately known, and WASA's chief engineer claimed it was the... more ›

>> We would have liked to have read about "The Best Bars in DC For Ensuring That You Will Not Run Into a Single Person Even Vaguely Connected With Politics or Media (crossposted to Gridskipper)." Good luck to you, Pareene. [Wonkette] >> A fire will be set Saturday morning on Metrorail's bridge over the Potomac River as part of an emergency-response drill involving 100 firefighters from seven area jurisdictions. The Yellow line will be shut... more ›

If you're heading to any Yellow line destinations this weekend, including National Airport, you should make alternate plans. Metro is shutting down the Yellow line rail bridge over the Potomac River this weekend to do track maintenance and conduct an annual bridge inspection. The closure begins tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts through Sunday at midnight. Directions from WMATA: When a Yellow Line train arrives at the King Street Metrorail station, passengers must transfer to... more ›

A few more tidbits keep trickling out about decisions made during the D.C. Council's action-packed final summer session earlier this week, and this one is ripe for a cascade of debate. Running enthusiast Mayor Adrian Fenty is determined to see the Nation's Triathlon, scheduled for Sept. 29, go forward this year, complete with a one-mile swim in the Potomac River. Last year, the swim part of the event was canceled after the health department determined... more ›

Noticed a weird smell or taste in your tap water this week? Water authorities have begun treating raw water from the Potomac River with a carbon process, after customers began complaining on Monday. WTOP's Neal Augenstein reports the musty odor is the result of warmer temperatures in the river, which has led to an odd-smelling algae bloom. According to an engineer quoted in the story, the carbon process is designed to absorb odors. The carbon... more ›

Sometimes the lede to another publication's story is so subtly great that we just can't bear to mess with it. Take it away, NBC4:

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to know what is causing some male fish to acquire female sexual characteristics in the Potomac River and its tributaries.

Well, the swim may have been cancelled due to the nastiness in the Potomac River, but otherwise the inaugural Nation's Triathlon went off without a hitch. Well, spare the road closures that snared Saturday morning traffic by the National Mall, that is. And what they say is true -- Adrian Fenty really does run triathlons, and he's good. Gandhi to Keep Job: Phew! Natwar Gandhi, the District's Chief Financial Officer, must be breathing a... more ›

[D.C. Police Chief] Ramsey rejected the swim permit for the triathlon after the D.C. Department of the Environment raised concerns about the level of human waste dumped into the river after it rains. Officials say the water is safe some days but registered far above EPA limits for human fecal matter on other days. Triathlon organizer Charles Brodsky says his group has tested the water every six days and found it safe. But city officials say those tests were flawed.

Last month we reported that the District's first official triathlon, the Nation's Triathlon, was a go. After months of haggling with competing jurisdictions for permit, race organizers got the final go-ahead for the event, which would include a swim in the Potomac River, a bike ride up Rock Creek Park, and a run to the U.S. Capitol and back. Plenty of readers made jokes about swimming in the Potomac. Hell, so did I --... more ›

After months of torturous planning, organizers of the first officially sanctioned triathlon in the District announced today that the race is on. The Nation's Triathlon, set for September 16, 2006, will take its 1,750 participants on a short 1 kilometer swim in the Potomac River, a 32 kilometer bike ride up Rock Creek Park and back, and an 8 kilometer run around the city's monuments. Pre-registration is closed for the race, though organizers have said that slots may still open up. more ›

This is getting pretty ridiculous. The monsoon continues this afternoon and will intensify tonight, dropping comically high amounts of water on much of the region. The National Weather Service has extended its flash flood watch for the area through tomorrow morning, noting:THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO FALL EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS WHERE AN ADDITIONAL 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH ISOLATED TOTALS TO EIGHT INCHES NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.That's how... more ›

For all the talk of how valuable the land along the Potomac River in Georgetown is, little has been done with it. That's now changing. The Georgetown Current is reporting today that the long-awaited nine acre Georgetown Waterfront Park is finally becoming a reality, with bulldozers starting to tear apart the parking lot that has to date blocked access to what could otherwise be spectacular river views. The park, which over its 25 years on... more ›

Large Sewage Spill Sours Potomac River: Some 17 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River on Saturday, reports NBC 4. The spill was caused by a three-hour power failure at the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant on the eastern back of the river. And though 17 million gallons sounds like a lot, the EPA has predicted that the spill won't have a major impact, a claim countered by the Anacostia Watershed... more ›