A prominent Arkansan has signed on to help D.C. transform the Anacostia River into a swimmable, fishable (or at least canoeable) waterway. Unfortunately, it’s not Bill Clinton, whose government contributes an especially large chunk of the river’s sewage-borne pollution (“A Sewer Runs to It,” 5/5). Still, city officials were thrilled on Monday when former Congressman Beryl Anthony, brother-in-law of the late Vince Foster, joined efforts to press Congress to fund an upgrade of the city’s Civil War-era sewer system. In its current state, D.C.’s “combined sewer overflow” system dumps 1.5 billion gallons of untreated sewage annually into Rock Creek, the Potomac River, and the Anacostia River, where the mayor wants a riverfront revival. Cost estimates for fixing the system range from $500 million to several billion dollars. Anthony, an attorney at the D.C. law firm of Winston & Strawn, will take the case pro bono. “This is a godsend,” says Jim Wareck, the mayor’s point man on the Anacostia. “This is public service in the classic sense.” —Kevin Diaz

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