[5] White settlers cleared much of the surrounding forest for farmland, however, and extensive soil erosion led to a heavy load of silt and effluent in the Anacostia.

[9] The construction of Benning and other bridges and the diversion of inflowing streams to agricultural use also slowed the river's current, allowing much of the silt to settle and be deposited.

[11][14][15] The material dredged from the river would be used to build up the flats and turn them into dry land, eliminating the public health dangers they caused.

[2] In addition to this channel (which was meant to facilitate the passage of cargo ships) the McMillan Commission proposed building a dam across the Anacostia River at Massachusetts Avenue SE or at Benning Bridge to form a large lake for fishing and recreational boating.

[17] The Washington Post reported in July 1914 that Congress had approved the plan for a dam on the river at Massachusetts Avenue SE.

[21] By 1920, the Corps of Engineers had dropped the dam idea and proposed creating a 6 feet (1.8 m) deep lake on one side of the Anacostia River by linking several of the mid-river islands it had built with dikes.

[23] That same year, the National Aeronautic Association proposed filling in all or part of Kingman Lake to build a new city airport.

[26] About 200 acres (81 ha) of the western shore of Kingman Lake between Gallinger Hospital and Benning Bridge were set aside for gardens in March 1933 to provide food for the needy.

[27] Later that year, the Army Corps of Engineers spent $853,000 to extend Washington's sewer system to Bladensburg to collect raw sewage being dumped into the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake.

[30] As the Corps continued to dredge fill, it expanded the flats on the eastern side of Kingman Lake, making it smaller than originally intended.

[31] Work on the lake stopped in 1941 due to budgetary and resource shortages associated with the advent of World War II.

[35] The commission also proposed filling in 59 acres (24 ha) of Kingman Lake (about 50 to 60 percent of the lake's total area) and relocating some of the riprap walls, making Islands 3 and 4 part of the mainland and adding 19 acres (7.7 ha) to Langston Golf Course (located on the northern half of Kingman Island).