Not the Mother’s Day experience anyone was expecting, RFK Jr. took his family to an area with allegedly “high levels of bacteria” to celebrate the holiday.
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On Sunday, the US Health Secretary took photos of himself and his grandchildren swimming in Rock Creek. The body of water is located near Washington, D.C. “Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “And a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat, Cassius, in Rock Creek.”
However, according to The New York Times, Rock Creek notably flows through much of Northwest Washington and is used to drain excess sewage and stormwater during rainfall.
The creek is also known to have widespread “fecal” contamination and high levels of bacteria, including E. coli. Washington, DC, has banned swimming in all of its waterways for more than 50 years.
The National Park Service has even issued an advisory about swimming in the body of water: “Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to humans. All District waterways are subject to a swim ban—this means wading, too!”
Washington, D.C.’s Water and Sewer Authority further revealed that Dumbarton Oaks Park is downstream from Piney Branch, a Rock Creek tributary receiving approximately 40 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater flow yearly. The city is working on a plan to build a tunnel to reduce the amount of sewage that flows into both Piney Branch and Rock Creek.
Social Media Reminds RFK Jr. About Rock Creek’s Swim Ban
RFK Jr. was reminded of the dangers of swimming in Rock Creek after posting the Mother’s Day photos.
“With all due respect, swimming in Rock Creek is prohibited,” one X user wrote. “Beacuse the water is contaminated with [poop emoji].”
Another X wrote, “There are literally signs there that say no swimming.” They also shared a screenshot of the Rock Creek Google search.
“So, you literally took the kids up s—creek to swim,” an X user pointed out. “You’d think someone in your position would understand a little about infectious pathogens in bodies of water. I hope the kids are ok.”
A fellow X user was more “optimistic” about the situation. “On the positive side, there hasn’t been enough rain lately to dump the usual toxic stew of untreated sewage into Rock Creek. But the stuff that washed into it from the last storm is likely not ‘flushed’ out. yet.”
They then added, “Bobby may be visiting the [White House] doc soon.”