by Marlene Berlin After community members raised concerns about DC Water’s preferred method for rehabilitating Soapstone Valley’s century-old sewer pipes, the agency is delaying the work until at least mid-summer, according to the legislative director for Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh. Michael Porcello mentioned the delay in a January 7th email to this reporter, […]
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MLK weekend events include Peirce Mill, Melvin Hazen and Trail 9 cleanups
For the 12th year in a row, volunteers will spend the Martin Luther King holiday weekend sprucing up Rock Creek Park and its tributaries. Rock Creek Conservancy and the National Park Service are hosting several trash and invasive species removal events from Saturday, January 15th through Monday, January 17th. Volunteers will be picking up trash […]
Soapstone neighbors question DC Water on methods and communication for upcoming sewer rehab project
Neighbors of the Soapstone Valley came to a recent virtual meeting with DC Water to raise a number of questions about the methods, schedule and communications for a massive sewer rehabilitation project slated to begin in the park sometime in the coming months. At the December 7th meeting, of particular concern was DC Water’s […]
Opinion: Upcoming Soapstone sewer work will use a method that’s toxic to humans and the environment. There is another way.
by Marjorie L. Share DC Water is about to undertake a major project in our backyard in the name of environmental protection, but its methods will impose unnecessary risks upon our community. These risks can be avoided, and a solution exists. About 6,100 linear feet of century-old sewer infrastructure runs through Soapstone Valley, a national […]
Is DC Water on track to start the Soapstone Valley sewer rehab in December? Get the latest at a Dec. 7 community meeting
ANC 3F and DC Water are hosting a joint meeting on December 7th on the upcoming sewer rehabilitation project in the Soapstone Valley. The project, long in the works, will include relining the 110-year-old sewer pipes and a stream restoration to address stormwater erosion. The most recent community update on the project from DC Water […]
Rock Creek Park deer management under way through March
The National Park Service begins a new Rock Creek Park “deer management” season at sundown, and its efforts to curb the park’s whitetail deer population will continue through March 2022. The hunters are U.S. Department of Agriculture biologists, which the Park Service says are also highly trained firearms experts. They are equipped with infrared heat […]
Volunteers have been freeing trees and other native Linnean Park plants from smothering invasive species, and you can join them
John Burwell, an invasive species-fighting champion of the Linnean and Broad Branch stream restoration areas, was at it again last Saturday with a group 10 volunteers, some from neighborhoods close by and some as far away as Buzzard Point. They worked in Linnean Park to clear trees of smothering vines, and the trail of invasive […]
Volunteers have improved the Linnean Park Trail. Now, volunteers are needed to help maintain it.
Neighbors walking the Linnean Park Trail since early July have noticed and enjoyed some sorely needed improvements. The upper part of the trail was renovated with the installation of rolling grade dips, and waterbars, both designed to channel water off the trail. Clearing silt under the rustic footbridge allowed for better water flow. Stone steps […]
What does it mean when a stream turns bright green? That DC Water is doing some investigative work.
People walking along part of Broad Branch Stream on Sunday were startled to find it was colored a rather unnatural shade of green. A Twitter user asked the question: “Is this where Ninja Turtles come from?” Just got these pics from a friend’s run this morning? Is this where Ninja Turtles come from? @McBorowik pic.twitter.com/BqbhUFm3Ry […]
Round up invasive weeds at the first Rock Creek “Weed Wrangle” on Sept. 25
Saddle up, pardners. Volunteers are being deputized to round up some weedy invaders in and around Rock Creek Park. On Saturday, September 25th (which is also National Public Lands Day), the National Capital Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) and Rock Creek Conservancy are leading their first “Weed Wrangle,” during which volunteers will remove […]