Lady Bird advances deep beneath DC

As one nearby project aimed at cleaning up our waterways nears completion, a years-long undertaking slowly advances deep underneath the District:

by David Jonas Bardin

Wow! A tunnel boring machine named for a great first lady works away six days a week – as part of DC Water’s plan to improve Anacostia River water quality. Watch this short video to find out why and how this Lady Bird toils to enhance our river and its fish, wildlife, and recreational resources – paid for by water and sewer customers.

This photo of a portion of Lady Bird gives a sense of the scale of the tunnel borer. (2013 DC Water photo)

The tunnel Lady Bird leaves behind will help contain raw sewage overflow during rainstorms. When I was a board member for the DC Water and Sewer Authority, a subcommittee which I chaired oversaw development of a “Long-Term Control Plan for Combined Sewage Overflows.” Now DC Water’s Team is turning the plan into assets. To learn more, see page 32 of this September DC Water report.