Residents here have a long tradition of giving back to our planet and to our neighborhood.

The Wharf was designed to achieve Gold certification for LEED Neighborhood Development; and all individual buildings are targeting LEED Gold or Silver certification. It exceeds many of the requirements for the District’s Green Building Act and the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative. The Wharf includes a 600,000-gallon underground cistern system that captures and filters rainwater runoff and reuses the gray water onsite for cooling towers and flushing toilets. In addition, the bulk of the site is covered with permeable pavements, green roofs, and substantial vegetative bioretention to capture and filter stormwater and runoff before they reach the Potomac River. The Wharf includes preserved mature oaks, 300 additional new trees, 340 square feet of floating wetland systems, hundreds of bicycle racks and a dozen electric car charging stations.

The Wharf plants and maintains over 300 planters and the floating wetlands to support flora and fauna on site and in the Washington Channel; hosts bi-annual Washington Channel Water Cleanups, partners with the Potomac Riverkeeper, Anacostia Riverkeeper, and university aquatic research groups to support fishable and swimmable waterways. The Wharf also installed a High-Water Mark art installation to raise public awareness of flooding risks. The installation was the brainchild of artists at Hackreative, in partnership with the DC Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Did you know that the Washington Channel is the cleanest waterway in the greater DC area?

Yes, the Washington Channel is regularly tested by our Potomac Riverkeeper and scores as swimmable most days (check it out on Swim Guide). The Potomac Riverkeeper Network sponsors the Annual Polar Bear Plunge and is promoting the Swimmable Potomac River Campaign to ensure that the Potomac River is safe for swimming, paddling, stand-up paddleboarding, and other forms of water recreation.

Like many older cities, DC has a combined sewage and rain runoff system, which means during a rain event the water treatment plant just can’t keep up. The Clean Rivers Project in DC is building giant underground cisterns across the city to hold runoff water during a rain event until such time as the water processing plant can catch up. Several of these cisterns are online now, more are coming, and it is transforming our waterways. The DC Clean Rivers Project is projected to reduce CSOs in an average rainfall year by 96 percent system-wide.

Residents Give Back

Need a cup of sugar? Someone to walk your dogs? The Wharf and CYC liveaboard communities come together for each other. We also show up for the SW DC neighborhood. Our events include clean ups, adopt a block, food pantry volunteering, food, furniture, and clothing drives for the local churches and non-profits, back to school supply drives, furniture and food/clothing drives for the unhoused. We donate to the amazing Oasis employees who at the docks and always answer the call when a neighbor needs a helping hand. Just when you thought there’s nothing better than living on the water, you find it’s better living on the water in this community.