Daniel Fowler, The Examiner
2007-08-09 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Washington DC -

The long-blighted Anacostia River will benefit from a new device designed to trap and remove tires, bottles and other debris from the murky waters, officials said Wednesday.

Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson said the county has pledged to spend between $35,000 and $40,000 on a free-floating trash trap, and he hopes other jurisdictions will match that commitment.

“The interesting thing is that a small amount of investment can have such a tremendous dividend,” Johnson said.

According to James Connolly, executive director of the Anacostia Watershed Society, this will be the first free-floating trash trap in the river or its tributaries. He said there is one trash trap in both Washington and Prince George’s attached to CSO or stormwater pipes.

“This is the pilot,” said Connolly, who hopes to have the traps installed in Lower Beaverdam Creek by spring. The creek is an Anacostia tributary on the Washington border.

From there, Johnson said, the Anacostia Watershed Society would let the county know how many more traps it wants and Prince George’s will work to provide them.

“We can find some money for these traps,” he said.

Connolly said he envisions at least a dozen traps in the Anacostia watershed, which encompasses 176 square miles in Washington, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

Anacostia Watershed Society President Robert Boone said there is a Trash Free Potomac by 2013 initiative, and to help accomplish that he wants the Anacostia trash-free by 2012.

“If only Prince George’s puts in trash traps, the District is still going to have its problem,” Boone said.

The announcement from Prince George’s came during a briefing on the state of the Anacostia Watershed that was attended by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. Cardin, Johnson and other elected officials toured the river on a pontoon.

“We can really make this a great asset to the community not just for boating, but hopefully one day for swimming and fishing,” Cardin said.

dfowler@dcexaminer.com