Section 319
               NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS  STORY
                  istrict  v      C
 Project Expands Wetland Functions in Tidal River
Waterbody Improved
                              Nearly all the historic wetlands surrounding the Anacostia
                              River were lost when the Washington, D.C., area was devel-
oped. Also lost were the ecosystem services that wetlands provide, including water fil-
tration and habitat. As a result, sediment and nutrients levels in the river increased. The
District of Columbia's (District's)  Department of the Environment (DDOE) launched an effort
to restore some of the wetlands  along the mainstream portion of the river. Restoring the
sites increased coverage of planted vegetation by more than 100 percent along the river
and improved the ability of the areas to process excess nutrients and filter sediment.
 Problem
 The tidal portion of the Anacostia River once
 included hundreds of acres of wetlands. During
 the capitol region's development, the U.S. Army
 Corps of Engineers (USAGE) straightened the river
 and filled in almost all the wetlands, leaving the
 tidal Anacostia with little ability to process pollut-
 ants flowing downstream from Maryland and the
 District.

 Recently DDOE and USAGE conducted a planning
 study using Clean Water Act (CWA) section 319
 funding and identified areas (fringe sites) in the
 mainstem channel that could sustain wetlands. In
 2003 the partners implemented a 17-acre wetland
 restoration project called the River Fringe Wetlands.
 Project Highlights
 The partners identified two existing depositional
 areas (Figure 1) in the river as prime spots for
 raising the elevation and planting wetland plants.
 They dredged sediment from approximately a mile
 upstream of the sites and pumped it into two cells,
 which were supported by sheet piling and coconut
 coir (fiber) logs. The 1.7- to 2.3-foot target eleva-
 tions were reached after two weeks of dredging
 (Figure 2).

 Vegetation in a similar wetland restoration proj-
 ect conducted in 2000 suffered from significant
 grazing damage by numerous Canada geese that
 reside year-round on nearby National Park Service
 land. Learning from that, the partners opted to
 sufficiently raise the elevations of the River Fringe
 wetland  restoration project to sustain a vigorous
 assemblage of wetland plants that would not
 attract resident geese. In addition, the partners
                                          Figure 1. Before
                                          construction, the River
                                          Fringe Wetland site was a
                                          depositional mudflat.

                                          added fences around the
                                          newly planted wetlands to
                                          deter geese from accessing
                                          them from the ground.

                                          The partners planted seven
                                          species in the River Fringe
                                          project area, the vast major-
                                          ity of which are unpalatable
                                          to Canada geese. One
                                          species of interest, Zizania
                                          aquatics (wild rice), historical-
                                          ly dominated the wetlands.
                                          The Anacostia Watershed
                                          Society (AWS) reestablished
                                          that species using a unique
                                          method. AWS grew wild
                                          rice and collected the seed over the course of one
                                          growing season. It then embedded the seeds in
                                          mud balls and invited enthusiastic school children
Figure 2. Project partners pumped
sediment into two cells to create
the River Fringe Wetland, seen
here as the slight bulge of land
extending into the river just beyond
the tennis courts.

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Figure 3. Three years after construction, the area is
densely vegetated.

to throw them into the wetland cells. The wild rice
plants, in addition to many other planted species,
have flourished over the past 7 years (Figure 3).
Results
The coverage of planted vegetation has increased
to approximately 80 percent and has remained
steady for the past 4 years (Figure 4). More than 70
species  have been identified over the past 5 years
(Figure 5). Volunteer species (mostly annual spe-
cies), have been an important component of the
vegetation composition, contributing an additional
40 to 60 percent coverage. The greater than 100
percent  increase indicates that numerous layers of
vegetation have created an extremely dense plant
mass. The plants absorb excess nutrients and filter
sediment from the river, thereby achieving the
project's primary goal.
Partners and Funding
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided
$200,000 in CWA section 319 funding to assist
DDOE with the restoration project. DDOE  con-
tributed 25 percent of the costs of the restoration
project and contributed staffing for the wetland
monitoring. The USAGE Baltimore District contrib-
uted 75 percent of the costs and handled contract
and project management duties. The $4 million total
project cost consisted of feasibility studies, design,
permitting, construction and monitoring.
                                                                   Total Vegetative Cover
                                                               Compared to Cover by Planted
                                                            Species at the Anacostia River Fringe
 
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