Anacostia Watershed Society

What Anacostia Watershed Society does

The Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1989 and headquartered at The George Washington House in Bladensburg, Maryland, whose mission is to protect and restore the Anacostia watershed for the benefit of current and future generations. AWS operates a portfolio of programs organized around four pillars: Policy Advocacy (the annual State of the River Report Card, trash and water quality monitoring, and plastic reduction legislation including work that supported DC's Bag Fee and Prince George's County's 2024 bag ban), Field Conservation & Restoration (habitat restoration, freshwater mussel reintroduction through the MusselPower program with documented 91% survival rate and 32+ million gallons of water filtered, pollution reduction, and trash trap operations), Education (school-based programs such as Rice Rangers, Mussel Power, Watershed Explorers, and Schools in Schools, plus adult programs like the Master Naturalist Program and Watershed Stewards Academy), and Outreach, Engagement & Volunteerism (the Anacostia River Discovery Series boat tours, Bioblitz, and Earth Day Cleanup).

AWS's technical footprint centers on environmental monitoring and restoration infrastructure rather than software: Bandalong and conventional trash traps at locations including Nash Run, real-time water quality monitoring systems (launched September 2025), floating mussel baskets at eight sites along the Anacostia, and stormwater green infrastructure installed through the RiverSmart Communities program. The organization integrates with off-the-shelf SaaS platforms (EveryAction for donations, Mobilize.us for events, iNaturalist for citizen science) but operates no proprietary AI, analytics platform, or mobile application.

AWS is funded primarily through individual donations, corporate partnerships (including Norfolk Southern, CSX, Patagonia, FedEx, New Belgium Brewing, JBG Companies, and CH2M), foundation grants (Chesapeake Bay Trust, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Park Foundation, Rotary Foundation of DC), and government grants including a documented $400,000 grant from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser in August 2019 for MusselPower expansion. Membership is offered at $35+ annually and includes the Voice of the River print newsletter. AWS serves watershed residents across DC, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County, with a cumulative reach of 214,000+ people engaged (including 85,000 in environmental education) and 1,580+ tons of trash removed from the watershed.

Name

Anacostia Watershed Society

Legal name

Anacostia Watershed Society

Website

https://anacostiaws.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Anacostia Watershed Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989 that protects and restores the Anacostia River through policy advocacy, field conservation (mussel reintroduction, trash traps, water quality monitoring), environmental education, and volunteer programs, serving watershed residents and schools across Washington DC, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE), Environmental Conservation & Sustainability Volunteering (EDAIAGAB), Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Watershed restoration
• Environmental education
• Habitat conservation
• River conservation
• Pollution monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Bladensburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals supporting the organization's mission. The organization is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit (tax identification number 52-1666511).
2. Membership Program: Annual membership starting at $35 level includes the Voice of the River print newsletter delivered three times yearly, along with other member benefits.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Sponsorships from corporations for events and programs. Companies like Norfolk Southern, CH2M, JBG Companies have sponsored the Anacostia River Heroes reception and Countdown to 2025 Campaign.
4. Government Grants: Grants from government agencies including a $400,000 grant from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser in August 2019 for the MusselPower program. Also funded through District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Anacostia Watershed Society protects and restores the Anacostia River watershed through advocacy, field conservation, environmental education, and community engagement. Its core offerings include the freshwater mussel restoration program (MusselPower), water quality and trash monitoring for policy advocacy, K-12 and adult watershed education programs, volunteer cleanups, and signature recreation events such as boat tours and the annual Bioblitz.

Product overview

The Anacostia Watershed Society offers a portfolio of interconnected environmental conservation programs organized around four pillars: Policy Advocacy (State of the River Report Card, water/pollution monitoring, plastic reduction legislation), Field Conservation & Restoration (habitat restoration, pollution reduction, trash removal), Education Programs (Saturday Environmental Academy, Summer River Explorers, Watershed Explorers, Mussel Power, Schools in Schools, Master Naturalist, Watershed Stewards Academy, Rice Rangers), and Recreation & Outreach (Anacostia River Discovery Series boat tours, Anacostia River Bioblitz, Anacostia Water Trail). The organization also runs community programs including Storm Drain Mural Project and RiverSmart Communities to engage residents in watershed stewardship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MusselPower: AWS's freshwater mussel restoration program that reintroduces native freshwater mussels into the Anacostia River to improve water quality through natural filtration. The program has reintroduced tens of thousands of mussels with the help of students and citizen scientists.
• Rice Rangers
• State of the River Report Card
• Anacostia River Discovery Series
• Saturday Environmental Academy
• Summer River Explorers Program
• Watershed Stewards Academy
• Anacostia River Bioblitz

Products and services

• MusselPower Freshwater Mussel Restoration Program Reintroduces native freshwater mussels (Alewife floaters and Eastern pondmussels) into the Anacostia River in floating baskets to filter pollutants naturally, with student, citizen-scientist, and partner participation in deployment and monthly monitoring.
• Rice Rangers Wetland Restoration Education Program Education program in which students plant wetland seeds in classrooms, tend to the plants as they grow, and then transplant them into river wetlands such as Kingman Marsh as part of AWS restoration efforts.
• Saturday Environmental Academy Out-of-school program engaging youth in hands-on environmental education activities throughout the Anacostia watershed.
• Summer River Explorers Program Summer program for youth providing river exploration and environmental education experiences on the Anacostia River.
• Watershed Stewards Academy Adult education program training community members in watershed stewardship and conservation practices.
• Master Naturalist Program Adult education program in partnership with University of Maryland Extension for individuals to become certified master naturalists; the first Prince George's County cohort of 20 dedicated individuals completed 60 hours of coursework in 2018.
• Anacostia River Discovery Series Signature recreation and education series offering boat tours on the Anacostia River to explore ecological and historical changes in the watershed.
• State of the River Report Card Annual water quality assessment report providing grades for the Anacostia River's health based on parameters including fecal bacteria, dissolved oxygen, water clarity, chlorophyll, and submerged aquatic vegetation.
• Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring on the Anacostia River Real-time water quality monitoring systems that continuously track river health parameters across the Anacostia River and feed water quality data used for the State of the River Report Card and policy advocacy.
• Annual Membership Program Annual membership starting at the $35 level, including the Voice of the River print newsletter delivered three times a year (February, June, September) and other member benefits, with higher giving levels receiving additional benefits.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% reduction in sewage into the Anacostia from DC combined sewer overflow
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Anacostia RiverkeepercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnacostia Riverkeeper served as principal contractor of DOEE from 2023 to 2025 for the trash trap program. AWS works closely with Anacostia Riverkeeper on data collection and water quality monitoring initiatives, ensuring continuity of scientific monitoring efforts.
• District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWS works with DOEE on trash trap programs, sediment remediation projects, and the Anacostia River Sediment Project. DOEE released the draft report on river sediment investigation in March 2016 and continues collaborative efforts on water quality monitoring.
• National Park ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPS partnered with AWS on freshwater mussel releases at Kenilworth Park in September 2019, joining the release event with staff and citizen scientists.
• Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery / U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe hatchery in Charles City, VA is run by USFWS and is the largest freshwater mussel hatchery in the Mid-Atlantic/southeastern area. They cultivated the Alewife floater mussels for AWS's mussel restoration program, providing technical expertise essential to the project's success.
• DC AppleseedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with AWS and Anacostia Riverkeeper to review sediment project findings and jointly submit comment letters to DOEE.
• Luther Place ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered through RiverSmart Communities program to install rain garden designed to contain and filter over 2,700 gallons of urban stormwater.
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered through RiverSmart program to replace over 10,000 square feet of asphalt with rain gardens and permeable pavers to reduce runoff pollution at the church property.
• Soul Trak OutdoorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization working to connect Black communities with nature, highlighted as part of AWS's commitment to environmental justice and community engagement.
• Building Bridges Across the RiverminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization working on environmental justice initiatives in the Anacostia watershed community.
• Maryland Department of Natural ResourcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived 3,000 surplus mussels from AWS for their state mussel hatchery in Brandywine, MD as part of the mussel restoration program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Casey Trees: DC-focused urban forestry nonprofit; comparable in scale, mission, education/outreach model, and corporate funding base, but with a canopy/trees focus rather than watershed focus.
• Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin: Interstate governmental body supporting Potomac basin restoration through coordination, monitoring, and grants; functions in the same watershed policy ecosystem as AWS with overlapping DOEE and USFWS relationships.

Direct peers

• Earth Conservation Corps: DC-based nonprofit engaging youth in Anacostia River restoration, including mussel and oyster programs; runs comparable environmental education and corps-based job training pipelines.
• Rock Creek Conservancy: Local DC-area watershed nonprofit focused on Rock Creek with volunteer cleanups, restoration workdays, and citizen science — a near-twin of AWS's model but for a different DC tributary.
• Alice Ferguson Foundation: Regional nonprofit in the greater DC region providing environmental education, trash cleanup events (Shoreline Cleanups), and Potomac watershed stewardship; closely mirrors AWS's education + volunteerism + cleanup model.
• Anacostia Riverkeeper: Operates on the exact same Anacostia watershed, focused on water quality monitoring, trash trap operations, and policy advocacy; AWS and Anacostia Riverkeeper are explicit operational partners in the data and trash programs.
• Potomac Conservancy: Adjacent DC-area watershed nonprofit that runs water quality monitoring, conservation, and policy programs structurally similar to AWS, including a State of the Potomac report card analogous to AWS's State of the Anacostia River Report Card.

Broad incumbents

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: One of the largest regional environmental nonprofits; advocates for Chesapeake Bay restoration with education, policy, and on-the-water programming directly comparable to AWS's watershed restoration model.
• Chesapeake Conservancy: Regional conservation nonprofit using technology (drones, GIS, data) for watershed conservation; AWS's new real-time monitoring aligns methodologically with Chesapeake Conservancy's data-driven approach.
• Friends of the Earth: National advocacy nonprofit with active campaigns on plastic pollution, bag bans, and clean water policy — the exact legislative domains where AWS has succeeded, providing a national-scale reference point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/anacostiaws
• Facebookfacebook.com/anacostiaws
• Instagraminstagram.com/anacostiaws

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anacostia Watershed Society