Stormwater runoff from urban areas is now causing the rapidly rising levels of pollution in the Potomac River according to a recent report by Potomac Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental group.

Although polluted runoff has not changed much from last year, when Potomac Conservancy published its first report, this year the group focused specifically on stormwater and the problems it caused.

“Last year we took a broad look at the entire spectrum of problems in the Potomac watershed,” Anne Merwin, senior director of policy at Potomac Conservancy, said. “This year we focused in-depth on the fastest growing of those problems – stormwater.”

The Conservancy released its second annual “State of the Nation’s River” report on Nov. 11, which stated that urban runoff is threatening the area’s drinking water. It also reported that the stormwater runoff stems from city pavements, roofs and lawns. According to the report, 86 percent of local residents receive drinking water from the river.

Hendrick Belin, president of Potomac Conservancy, stated in the report that he believes people in the D.C. area are aware of the river’s pollution and want to know what they can do to help.

“Although there is awareness of the runoff issue, our polling reveals that people don’t appreciate all the problems it causes,” he said. “At the same time, they want to know what they and their local governments can do to prevent the degradation of our streams and the impairment of our drinking water supply.”

Last year, the river was given a D+ grade in environmental health because of the polluted runoff, according to the November 2007 Potomac Conservancy report. Although, this year’s report did not grade the environmental health of the river, it did stress that most pollution levels have gotten worse.

The 2007 report also included a statistic that certain species of fish were undergoing unnatural sex changes, with approximately 42 percent of male smallmouth bass producing eggs.

erwin said that the Potomac Conservancy has seen the trend of transgender fish continue into this year.

“Research is ongoing, but a 2008 study did find that the incidence of intersex fish increases near urbanized and intensively farmed areas – both of which are the source of a lot of polluted runoff,” she said.

This year’s report also outlined some actions that could be taken, including the addition of rain gardens, green roofs and porous pavements.

“It can be fixed,” Merwin said, “and comprehensive implementation of low-impact development techniques would go a very long way towards solving the problem.”

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