Photo by John Griffiths

Three District groups have hit a federal government agency with a lawsuit over D.C.’s historically polluted waters. Among the myriad of issues associated with the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, the non-profits allege that the Environmental Protection Agency is permitting dangerous amounts of the fecal bacteria E. coli into local waterways.

The EPA authorizes maximum daily loads of the bacteria that violate water quality standards set in the The Clean Water Act, according to the claim, which was first reported by The Washington City Paper.

“Even brief exposure to high fecal bacteria levels can cause, for example, gastroenteritis, with vomiting, indigestion, diarrhea, and fever, as well as earaches, pink eye, rashes, and skin infections,” according to the document assembled by the Anacostia Riverkeeper, the Kingman Park Civic Association, and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network. It quantifies that fecal bacteria concentrations exceed standards as often as 42 percent of the time.

In March, the Potomac Conservancy said its namesake river is “on its way to recovery.” But while the conversancy awarded the river a B- on its report card, it noted that the river’s polluted runoff “threatens to undo decades of restoration progress.” Three months later, Anacostia Watershed Society’s State of the Anacostia River 2016 Report Card pointed out worsened amounts of the fecal bacteria Chlorophyll a in the Anacostia River. The historically polluted waterway received an ‘F’ on the report, and the society doesn’t expect people to be able to fish or swim in the river before 2025.

Through the lawsuit, the advocacy groups are requesting that the EPA change its maximum thresholds within the year.