Potomac River Gets A Grade Of ‘B' For Water Quality For Fifth Straight Year

By WTOP News, Maryland Matters

November 14, 2025

It’s not fishable or swimmable yet, and has stalled in its progress, but the Potomac River is in far better shape than it was just 14 years ago.

That’s the verdict of the Potomac Conservancy, which gave the river a grade of “B” for the fifth year in a row on a report card on its health. At a news conference overlooking the Potomac River at the Capital Yacht Club on Wednesday, Potomac Conservancy President Hedrick Belin told reporters the latest report “certainly is a big turnaround from the dismal ‘D’ that it received in 2011, but it also means that progress has stalled.”

“The Potomac comeback is a great story — but it’s still in progress,” Belin said. “To truly make it an ‘A’ river, we need everyone. Whether you’re cleaning shorelines, signing letters or planting trees, everyone has a role to help protect the lifeblood of our region and our communities.”

Belin said the organization is hoping to raise $8 million before the end of the year for its Clean Water, Healthy Communities campaign.

Among the hurdles to getting to that “A” rating, according to Michael Nardolilli, executive director with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, is development that results in the loss of forest land.

“That means that there are more impervious surfaces and there’s less opportunity for water, when it rains, to sink into the ground,” Nardolilli said, adding that creates runoff that pollutes the river.

Part of the solution, he said, would be to intensify efforts to add what environmentalists call “riparian buffers,” or strips of land with vegetation, along rivers and streams, “So that there is natural vegetation that can help filter out pollutants before they reach the river,” Nardolilli said.

U.S. Rowing Olympian Aquil Abdullah, who describes himself as an advocate and steward for the environment, said he’s noticed the improvement along the river.

“The wildlife, the number of herons that we see now, when I’m out there, is a clear indicator that we’re on the right track,” Abdullah said.

But he agreed with Belin that there’s more work to be done.

The report indicates that while some native fish species, such as American shad, are recovering, others, such as smallmouth bass, are struggling.

One bright spot in the report card is the amount of recreation on and around the Potomac River, which the conservancy said has surged 10% since 2020.

Nico Foris, CEO of Guest Services Inc. in Fairfax, Virginia, which operates boating facilities including Thompson Boat Center near Georgetown and the Columbia Island Marina, said part of the strategy to support interest in the health of the Potomac River can be summed up as getting “butts in boats.”

Once people get out on the water, he said, “there’s a vested interest” in getting, and keeping, the river healthy.

As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from Kate Ryan. Click here for the WTOP News website.