Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared pictures of himself and his family swimming in Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., despite decadeslong warnings from the National Park Service not to do so.

Health officials typically advise avoid swimming in that DC waterway, because sewage from the city’s aging system flows into it. The problem is particularly bad after rains, but even during dry spells, the bacteria count in Rock Creek is alarmingly high, Marchant Wentworth wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece in 2021:

RFK Jr took his grandchildren for a dip in DC’s Rock Creek – despite warnings that high bacteria levels make it unsafe - ‘Swimming and wading are not allowed due to high bacteria levels,’ says Nationa