Little RFK Jr. swims at Rock Creek in DC, which stream flows with sewage and bacteria

Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Rock Creek flows through much of northwest Washington to drain excess sewage and rainwater during rainfall. The creek has been banned from swimming on all its waterways for more than 50 years in widespread “feces” pollution, including E. coli, and due to extensive pollution from Rock Creek and other nearby rivers.

“Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens, making swimming, wading and other contact with water harmful to the health of humans (and pets),” the National Park Servicer wrote in a consultation on its website.

But Mr. Kennedy shared photos of himself swimming in Rock Creek over the weekend, with one image showing him completely submerged in the water. Mr Kennedy said in a social media post that he and his family swim in Rock Creek on a hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park, including his grandson, who also swim in polluted water in the photos.

Dumbarton Oaks Park is downstream of Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek that receives about 40 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater overflows each year, according to DC Water and Weather Authority. Urban authorities plan to build a tunnel to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into pine branches and rock creeks.

A spokesperson for Mr. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.

This is the latest in a series of special events related to Mr. Kennedy’s outdoor characters.

Kennedy earned a reputation as a reckless adventurer during his 1970s teenage years, eating jungle and enduring illness on trips to safaris in South America and Africa. Later, he became famous for handling dead animals’ bodies, including whales and baby bears.

Mr. Kennedy also said that the parasite worm “entered into my brain, ate a portion, and then died.”