During the summer months, Anacostia Riverkeeper monitors water quality throughout all of DC waters and a large portion of the Anacostia watershed in order to asses the health of our waterways and provide up-to-date water quality information during the recreational season. With citizen science based volunteer programs we aim to build a team of volunteer water quality monitors in order to bring transparent and accessible water quality data to all communities and citizens in DC, MD, and the entire the Anacostia watershed.

Anacostia Riverkeeper aims to protect the Anacostia for all who live and play in the watershed. Water quality is essential to ensuring residents have safe and healthy access to the river and its streams for recreation like fishing, boating, and paddling. Riverkeeper currently has two water quality monitoring programs, one focused on the main waterways in Washington DC (Anacostia River, Potomac River, and Rock Creek) and one focused on the middle and upper Anacostia watershed in MD/DC.

Our water quality programs primarily use citizen scientists to collect samples throughout all DC waters and a large portion of the Anacostia watershed in MD. By using volunteers to help us collect data we are able to monitor large areas of the watershed with dedicated, local stewards who are committed to keeping their local waterways clean. Our programs are open to anyone 18+ years old (or children under the supervision of a parent/guardian) and take place at 29 sites across DC and MD from May to September each summer. Volunteer trainings take place annually each April before the start of the monitoring season.