A new dashboard tool announced Wednesday will allow the public to analyze the water quality of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers in the wake of a major sewage spill last winter. The news comes after the district saw the largest sewage spill in U.S. history, prompting Mayor Muriel Bowser to request federal emergency assistance from the Trump administration, and she declared it a national disaster.
Concerns about water quality have also arisen from nonprofit groups such as the Potomac Conservancy, which called the Potomac the most “endangered river in America,” citing concerns about nearby data center sprawl and its strain on water usage.
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The project relies on a technical water-quality monitor called the “YSI EXO2s sonde,” which measures “water quality parameters at each location.” Attached to various docks and buoys, the specialized sonde devices require little maintenance and are entirely powered by solar energy. There, the data are transmitted through a cellular network to Hydrosphere, a visual data platform used for environmental monitoring. The Reservoir Center says the pulled data are then incorporated onto its online dashboard, with data readings occurring at 15-minute intervals.
