Over the weekend, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted photos of him and his grandchildren swimming in a contaminated creek near Washington, D.C., where bathing is not permitted at all.
The Rock Creek, which runs through much of the district’s northwest area, is used to drain excess sewage and stormwater during rains. The creek has widespread “fecal” contamination and high levels of bacteria, including E. coli. The city has banned bathing in all its waterways for more than 50 years because of widespread contamination in Rock Creek and other nearby rivers.
“Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health,” reads the same National Park Service website.
However, neither the warning nor the swimming ban prevented the newly appointed HHS secretary from taking a swim.
In the post released on social media, Kennedy said he went to Rock Creek during a hike at Dumbarton Oaks Park with his family on Mother’s Day. His grandchildren were also with him.
Dumbarton Oaks Park is located downstream from Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek that receives about 160 million gallons of untreated wastewater and stormwater each year.
The RFK social post immediately sparked some hilarity on the web, but also several criticisms. Indeed, many commented on Kennedy Jr.’s photos, calling him irresponsible given the potential dangers of poor water quality.
At the same time, other web users instead defended the Trump administration official, claiming that the creek he was swimming in was not contaminated.
As stated by the NY Times, Kennedy Jr. earned a reputation as a reckless adventurer back in the 1970s, eating bushmeat and contracting various diseases during his travels in South America and Africa.
He later became known for handling the carcasses of dead animals, including a whale and a bear cub.
In recent years, particularly during the pandemic, RFK has instead come under the spotlight for his No-Vax positions.
