The Potomac River Tunnel has been under construction for 1 year. So, what’s the latest on it? Two tunnel boring machines will work on the tunnel. Starting from West Potomac Park, one machine will mine south through soft ground, and another machine will head north to bore through rock! The machines will be named after the Edmonson sisters, Mary and Emily. They were among 77 other enslaved people who attempted to escape by sailing on the Potomac River. It was the largest escape attempt by enslaved individuals in US history. DC Water is in the early phase of construction, which started in 2023. The tunnel will become operational when completed in 2030. How effective will it be? A similar project, the Anacostia Tunnel system, has prevented the CSO equivalent to more than 2200 National Ballpark volumes from entering the Anacostia River since 2018, Thank you to DC Water for chatting with us about this exciting project! Want to know about how this tunnel will reduce pollution and restore water quality? https://potomac.org/blog/4/1/2024-potomac-tunnel-updates (fb)

While we work to make the entire Potomac River region safe to swim in for everyone, we can still enjoy the parts that are healthy enough to swim in! More swimming hole ideas: https://buff.ly/8yrxFhk (fb)