Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership
(AWRP)

Efforts to restore the Anacostia watershed began nearly three decades ago. Since that time, local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as environmental organizations and dedicated private citizens have contributed significant resources toward re-establishing as much of the original ecosystem as possible. Formal cooperation between government agencies came with the 1987, signing of the Anacostia Watershed Agreement and the formation of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Committee (AWRC).

Despite the conscientious efforts of the numerous governmental agencies, it has become increasingly clear that the 2010 targets, adopted in 2001, are proving challenging to achieve. With increasing concern over meeting agreed-to targets, governmental representatives and other stakeholders participated in a retreat in March 2005 followed by a series of facilitated meetings.  After extensive discussion, analysis and consensus building, several key recommendations emerged.  Foremost, the completion and adoption of a comprehensive watershed restoration plan was identified as a fundamental key to long-term restoration success. In order to successfully complete and implement such a plan, a new restoration governance structure was recommended to address chronic problems of: 1) inadequate inter-jurisdictional and intra-jurisdictional coordination and implementation capabilities, 2) insufficient long-term funding support and 3) credibility problems with the watershed’s citizenry.

In June 2006, the COG Board adopted a resolution that established a new Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership. The key elements of the Partnership are: (1) the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Leadership Council; (2) the Anacostia Watershed Steering Committee; (3) the Anacostia Watershed Comprehensive Restoration Plan; and (4) a refreshened AWRC (a.k.a., the Anacostia Watershed Management Committee). The Council is responsible for the adoption and periodic revisions to a Comprehensive Anacostia Watershed Restoration and Protection Plan, which quantifies the restoration goals, specifies an implementation timeline and provides explicit measurements of progress, with appropriate recognition and incorporation of related planning activities. The membership and structure of the new Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership is summarized in the figure below.