Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is facing sharp criticism after sharing photos of himself and his grandchildren swimming in Rock Creek, a Washington, DC waterway federally banned for swimming due to high bacterial contamination.Kennedy posted the photos on social media Sunday, writing that he had taken a “Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park” followed by “a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat and Cassius in Rock Creek.” One image showed the 71-year-old fully submerged in the water, alongside children visibly playing in the creek.However, Rock Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, is known to be unsafe for any form of water contact. The National Park Service has long warned that “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.” According to ABC News, these advisories have been in place for over five decades, with a formal swim ban active since 1971.The area Kennedy visited sits downstream from Piney Branch, which, according to the DC Water and Sewer Authority, receives an estimated 40 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater overflow every year. A tunnel project is underway to help reduce the flow of waste into the creek.As per NBC News, a 2022 DC government microbial report confirmed “chronic elevated levels” of E coli in Rock Creek. The Environmental Protection Agency has also classified the waterway as having “fecal contamination” from sewage discharge, which increases during rainstorms.Despite these warnings, Kennedy, currently serving in the Trump administration, has a history of drawing attention with his outdoor exploits. According to The New York Times, he once admitted that a parasitic worm “got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He also recounted bizarre encounters involving dead wildlife, including attempting to skin a bear cub and collecting a whale carcass.The photos quickly reignited concerns over Kennedy’s judgement and apparent disregard for public health advisories. “Stay out of the water to protect streambanks, plants and animals and keep you and your family (including pets!) safe from illness,” the Park Service explicitly warns on its website.
