Potomac Conservancy's State of the Nation's River Report

The Potomac Conservancy's 2013 State of the Nation’s River report, which assesses the health of the Potomac River, gave the Potomac river an overall grade of C (improved from the previous grade, D). In their assessment Potomac Conservancy focuses on three fish species, American shad, striped bass, and white perch, all of which have seen increases in their populations since 2012 and received a grade C or higher. Pollution levels have also shown improvement with large reductions in pollutant indicators, such as nitrogen. However, natural habitats, that play a key role in reducing the pollution of the river, remain well below the goals of the Potomac Rivers Watershed Improvement Plan .