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Tag: Potomac River

  • DC Water says Potomac Interceptor repairs are progressing as Army Corps bolsters site protection – WTOP News

    D.C. Water said repairs to the collapsed Potomac Interceptor are still moving forward, with help now from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Work to repair the collapsed section of the Potomac Interceptor is moving ahead, and with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, D.C. Water crews are working to stay on track toward restoring full flow by mid-March.

    Sherri Lewis, a spokesperson for D.C. Water, said the water utility company has now gone more than two weeks without wastewater reaching the river.

    “Today is actually the 15th day that we’re going into without any overflows,” Lewis said during a news briefing on Monday.

    Lewis said crews had been working inside the damaged pipe for days, clearing out debris.

    “We’ve had our crews actually inside the damaged section of the pipe, removing large rocks and debris,” she said.

    Once the debris was out and engineers could get a closer look, Lewis said they realized the pipe walls were too unstable for workers to stay inside.

    “They have pretty much cleared out that site, and as we were able to better assess the condition of the pipe, the immediate pipe sections from where it collapsed, it was determined that pipe was too compromised and it was unsafe for us to have workers inside the pipe manually assisting in removing that rock dam,” she said.

    Lewis said with that safety concern, the team switched to a new approach, working to excavate a nearly 40-foot section between the damaged part of the pipe and “another access pit that we had created to access the Potomac Interceptor.”

    She added that crews will stabilize the area, install shoring supports and then cut into the top of the pipe so machinery can remove the remaining rock dam.

    Cost and repairs

    Lewis said the cost of both the repair and the environmental cleanup has now reached about $20 million.

    A federal emergency declaration, which came after a request from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last week for federal help, triggered support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Col. Francis Pera, who leads the U.S. Army Corps’ Baltimore District, said they were notified Friday evening and arrived on site Saturday morning. He said they moved quickly to protect the repair work after stormwater from the American Legion Bridge and Clara Barton Parkway flooded the pumping area. They also worked to install several pumps by Sunday night.

    “We already had three of those pumps in operation, safeguarding the pumps that D.C. Water is using to bypass the break in the Potomac Interceptor,” Pera said.

    He said the Corps built a system to catch and divert stormwater from existing drainage areas, so it does not run across contaminated soil or overwhelm the bypass system.

    “We’re catching through natural drainage in those ponds, and then we’re just diverting them. So that is an effort that will stay as long as it is required,” Pera said.

    He also noted that the Corps’ work is aimed at helping D.C. Water keep to its schedule.

    “We get to keep D.C. Water on track. We don’t want to take them off their path to their mid-March completion date for this initial repair,” Pera said.

    Despite the collapse, Pera said the region’s drinking water remains safe.

    D.C. Water said once full flow is restored, crews can shut down the bypass and begin the full environmental restoration along the river, creek beds and the C&O Canal.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Mike Murillo

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  • ‘This one will trickle down’: Va. lawmaker pushes for water testing in Potomac River sewage spill – WTOP News

    A Virginia lawmaker is urging the state’s health department to take concrete steps to address the potential health risks linked to the sewage spilling into the Potomac River.

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    After a decrepit pipe burst in Maryland last month and sent hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage spewing into the Potomac River, a Virginia lawmaker is now urging the state’s health department to take concrete steps to address the environmental disaster’s potential health risks to residents.

    “This one will trickle down over time, and I’m very worried about the contamination as it goes,” Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, said in an interview Friday.

    The DC Water system owns the pipe that broke in Montgomery County, Maryland on Jan. 19 and leaked over 243 million gallons of sewage into the waterway. The agency estimates it will take about six weeks for a temporary fix on the pipe – and nine months for a permanent solution.

    Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Health has issued a recreational advisory for 72.5 miles of the Virginia coast along the river, urging people to avoid touching the water and to be cautious when preparing seafood harvested from the river.

    VDH has not issued any warnings for drinking water and Maryland has issued a shellfish closure only for the Port Tobacco River region down to the Harry W. Nice Bridge.

    After one of his constituents asked VDH about potential contamination, Stuart said he was concerned to learn that the agency was not testing the water given the magnitude of the spill.

    “VDH will not conduct water sampling. The agency does not operate a freshwater bacterial monitoring program for recreational waters, and the Potomac River falls under Maryland’s jurisdiction for water quality oversight,” VDH’s Feb. 14 letter read.

    Stuart then sent his own letter to State Health Commissioner Dr. B. Cameron Webb.

    “Virginians who fish, crab, boat, and recreate on the Potomac deserve proactive protection and transparency, not a declaration that no testing will occur because another state holds primary authority,” Stuart wrote to Webb on Wednesday. “Furthermore, there are miles of creeks and tributaries branching off the Potomac River that are unquestionably Virginia waters, directly impacting the health of our marine resources and shoreline communities that I represent.”

    By Friday, Stuart said, the state’s top environmental agency had taken preliminary steps to test state waters.

    “I have since learned that (Department of Environmental Quality) is engaged, and they are doing sampling in various places. They were sampling on the edge,” Stuart said Friday. “I asked them if they would please go out into the channel and do various water columns to determine if it’s on the top.”

    The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said in a statement that on Tuesday, the agency collected 25 surface water samples across the recreational advisory area from above the sewer line break to Potomac Creek in Stafford County. The results of those samples are pending.

    The agency also said VDH staff “conducted a routine seawater sampling run for shellfish growing areas from Colonial Beach to the 301 (Harry Nice) Bridge, collecting 36 water samples in total. Based on their laboratory analyses, there were no elevated fecal coliform bacteria concentrations, with the vast majority of the samples at or below the detection limit for the test.”

    VDH replied to Stuart on Wednesday in a letter obtained by The Mercury.

    “We will continue sharing information, including sample results, between VDH, DEQ, Alex Renew, DC Water, MDE and VDEM. VDH staff are also maintaining communication with seafood industry stakeholders and watermen to provide timely, accurate information,” Lance Gregory, Director of VDH’s Office of Environmental Health Services, wrote.

    Gregory also said that the agency, in partnership with the Marine Advisory Board, “developed a mapping resource that illustrates the spill’s geographic scope relative to other productive waterways in the Commonwealth. This tool supports affected watermen in communicating clearly about the limited proximity of the incident to other harvesting areas and helps preserve confidence in Virginia seafood.”

    The state’s chief executive also weighed in on the disaster on Friday and said the state’s drinking water is safe.

    “I’m encouraged that EPA and FEMA have begun coordinating with DC Water to respond to the sewage spill in the Potomac,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement. “Amid the response, our state agencies are conducting water quality testing and monitoring the status of repairs. Our focus is on Virginians’ health and safety. Virginians should know that the spill is not impacting our drinking water.”

    Members of Virginia’s congressional delegation, along with Maryland officials, have written to DC water about their concerns over the health and environmental impacts of the spill. Still, Stuart is pushing for the state to do more.

    “Maryland owns the Potomac, but a lot of people in Virginia make their (livelihood) on it, and we eat a lot of the seafood that comes out of it. It’s a very productive river, despite how badly we treated it over the years,” Stuart said.

    Conservation group Potomac Riverkeepers Network agrees with the senator that this extreme of a situation calls for different approaches on how to handle it.

    “The historic sewage spill and the ongoing risk of intermittent overflows demands a departure from the status quo,” said David Flores, the Vice President of the Potomac Riverkeepers Network. “Virginians deserve more, not less, water quality monitoring and long-term assessments to protect their safety and the Commonwealth’s natural resources. This responsibility should not be deferred to another state.”

    Gaby Arancibia

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  • Trump approves disaster assistance to DC to help with sewage spill into Potomac River – WTOP News

    President Donald Trump has approved emergency assistance to D.C. to help the city address a sewage system leak that dumped at least 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has approved emergency assistance to Washington, D.C., to help the city address a sewage system leak that dumped at least 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Trump’s approval on Saturday, allowing FEMA to provide equipment and resources to help with the response to the Jan. 19 spill after a pipeline ruptured.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had requested the federal help on Wednesday and declared an emergency.

    Trump’s approval of the disaster relief request comes after he criticized the handling of the spill, blaming local Democratic leaders and focusing especially on Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

    At a dinner later at the White House for governors, where no Democrats were spotted, Trump brought up the spill and said, “We have to clean up some mess that Maryland and Virginia have left us. We’re going to be cleaning it up. It’s unbelievable what they can do with incompetence.”

    He said in his social media posts criticizing the response that local officials had not asked for emergency help and he intended to step in.

    However, the federal government was already involved in the repair and assessing the impact of the leak through the Environmental Protection Agency.

    The 72-inch (183 centimeter) pipeline, known as the Potomac Interceptor, burst on Jan. 19, sending 250 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River just north of Washington in the first five days.

    The leak is largely under control, but it could take months to repair the pipe fully. The local water utility, DC Water, along with the EPA, has been working to repair the leak and monitor the impact on the river.

    Officials have said the area’s drinking water is safe, but people who use the Potomac River for recreation are being cautioned not to have direct contact with the water.

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    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

    WTOP Staff

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  • Who foots the $20M bill of the Potomac River sewage cleanup, repairs? – WTOP News

    The cost of cleaning up and making repairs after a sewer line failure sent hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River will total around $20 million.

    The cost of cleaning up and making repairs after a sewer line failure sent hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River will total about $20 million, the CEO of D.C. Water said Friday.

    David Gadis provided the estimate during a briefing on the Jan. 19 failure of the Potomac Interceptor, a roughly 60-year-old, 54-mile long sewer line. The pipe failed in Cabin John, Maryland.

    It’s not entirely clear how the cost will be covered.

    Earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration request, seeking full reimbursement for costs incurred by both D.C. and D.C. Water.

    “We expect 100% reimbursement,” Bowser said.

    But D.C. Water’s facilities, including the Potomac Interceptor, are funded through an intermunicipal agreement, or IMA. Maryland and Virginia would be on the hook for more than 50% of the cost, per the agreement.

    So will the federal government approve D.C.’s request? And if so, will Maryland and Virginia’s share be covered too?

    District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser attends at a news conference regarding the Potomac Interceptor break, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

    “If the president wants to help Americans who deserve to know that the Potomac River is safe, it doesn’t matter, in my estimation, if it comes through D.C. to D.C. Water, because D.C. Water serves D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It’s kind of hard to parse it out,” Bowser said. “We are happy to be the conduit for the region.”

    President Donald Trump also weighed in this week on social media, saying the three jurisdictions needed to work collaboratively. He called out Maryland Gov. Wes Moore by name.

    “If they can’t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding the federal government “can fix it.”

    According to D.C. Water, the utility’s customers will not face any additional financial strain as a result of the sewage spill. Gadis said there would be no rate increase tied to the incident, and that the utility had already submitted planned rate increases for the future.

    Officials also stressed during Friday’s briefing that drinking water was not affected, but said people should avoid recreational contact with the river as a precaution.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Thomas Robertson

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  • DC mayor on request for federal assistance with sewer line repairs: ‘We’re different’ – WTOP News

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser indicated she’s working to not only mitigate the impact of a massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, but to protect District residents from footing the bill.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser indicated she’s working to not only mitigate the impact of a massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, but to protect District residents from footing the bill to repair D.C. Water’s wastewater pipeline.

    A segment of D.C. Water’s Potomac Interceptor collapsed last month, leading to one of the worst sewage spills in the nation’s history.

    During a news conference for the groundbreaking of a new recreation center in Southeast D.C. on Thursday, Bowser was asked about how the cost of making repairs to the Potomac Interceptor, a pipe that carries wastewater to the city, would be covered.

    “This is a D.C. Water asset,” Bowser said initially. “D.C. Water is responsible for fixing its pipe.”

    The spill was caused by break in a 72-inch-wide segment of the 60-year-old pipeline, shooting millions of gallons of sewage out of the ground and into the river.

    However, Bowser has asked the federal government to assist in the cleanup and repairs — a move that came after President Donald Trump criticized regional officials for their response to the break, which happened in mid-January.

    Bowser said D.C. Water has spent billions of dollars on its infrastructure, and along with distributing drinking water to District residents, provides wastewater services to parts of Maryland and Virginia.

    “We’re different. We are the nation’s capital, and so we think that there is a role for the federal government in speeding up those investments” in the system’s infrastructure, Bowser said.

    She bristled at one reporter’s question on whether the D.C. government took the sewage spill “seriously” in the days following the pipeline’s collapse last month.

    “I have to correct you,” Bowser said. “We’ve always taken it seriously.”

    The initial break sent millions of gallons of sewage flowing into the Potomac River until crews were able to come up with a system to funnel the leaking wastewater into the C&O Canal, allowing it to bypass the Potomac River and be channeled back into the Interceptor.

    Bowser said D.C. has an emergency management response structure, including a number of offices and agencies in D.C. government.

    “I’m at the top of that structure,” Bowser said.

    She added that when it came to the District’s emergency declaration: “This one is a little bit different, because the lead responding agency is not a D.C. government agency, but a quasi-government agency.”

    According to the D.C. Water website, the agency has been in contact with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the District Department of Energy and the Environment, the Maryland Governor’s Office and other regional officials as the repairs continue.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Kate Ryan

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  • DC mayor declares public emergency, requests federal support in Potomac River sewage leak – WTOP News

    Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued a request for federal support and is seeking reimbursement for costs to D.C. and its agencies dealing with a ruptured pipe that has dumped millions of gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River.

    Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued a request for federal support and is seeking reimbursement for costs to D.C. and its agencies dealing with a ruptured pipe that has dumped over 200 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River.

    Bowser declared a public emergency Wednesday night, saying that D.C. agencies have coordinated to manage the incident under the District Emergency Operations Plan.

    “The main piece of that is that the District is requesting reimbursement for costs that have been incurred by the District and D.C. Water, for both the repairs that are going on and remediation,” D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah said during a news briefing Wednesday.

    In the mayor’s request for federal support, she asked for “100% reimbursement for costs incurred” by the District and D.C. Water.

    Appiah added that city government has been coordinating support from federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.

    D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency has been working since Feb. 6 to conduct water testing, provide guidance to the community, coordinate with other agencies and evaluate the economic impacts, according to the mayor’s emergency declaration.

    “We’re making the specific requests that we know that the District needs to ensure the safety of our waterways,” Appiah said. “Federal entities do exist to support this type of activity, and District residents deserve that.”

    Appiah said federal agencies and President Donald Trump’s administration have been “operating within their lane,” but the D.C. government is in a unique position where they “often have to coordinate lots of federal entities.”

    “One of the reasons that the mayor has made the decision to make this request of a presidential declaration is because it allows the president to really direct FEMA to provide those funds, and that’s a little bit different than kind of the normal grant process of determining what jurisdictions are going to get,” Appiah said.

    When asked why the request is coming now, about a month after the pipe broke, Appiah said the decision was based on ongoing assessments of what would help the city speed up repairs and cleanup, especially with spring approaching and more people expected to use water recreationally.

    Appiah, who is the acting incident commander in this case, said city agencies and regional partners in Maryland and Virginia are working to respond to the incident, calling it a regional effort.

    “It’s a regional system and a regional response,” she said.

    Lawmakers in neighboring Maryland — where the section of the sewer pipe broke along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County — sent a letter to D.C. Water on Wednesday, pushing for an environmental remediation plan that includes continued testing and an evaluation for human impact.

    In the letter to D.C. Water, congressional lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia have also called for a strong environmental remediation plan, public briefings and vigilant monitoring of bacteria.

    The lawmakers requested that DC Water provide regular updates on the state of repairs, work on a comprehensive assessment and “commit to sustained water quality monitoring well into the spring.”

    President Trump said Monday he is directing federal authorities to step in to coordinate the response and protect the region’s water supply. In a post on social media, he faulted Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other “local Democrat leaders” who he said have “mismanaged” the “ecological disaster.”

    Moore pushed back, saying the president has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor sewer line for decades, adding that the Trump administration has failed to act for the last four weeks and has put people’s lives at risk.

    Local reporter Martin Austermuhle with the 51st told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli on Wednesday night that the mayor’s request opens “the spigot of federal funding.”

    “That could be for everything from actual fixes that D.C. Water is doing on the sewage pipe to any sort of impacts that local businesses in the District could suffer,” he said.

    As of Wednesday morning, D.C. Water has installed six of seven high-capacity pumps, a few hundred yards above the collapse site, under the exit ramp off the American Legion Bridge onto the Clara Barton Parkway.

    The pumps are diverting sewage from above the collapse point to an isolated section of the C&O Canal, to bypass the break, before being steered back into the Interceptor below the damaged pipe.

    This week, after blocking wastewater flow to the collapse site, D.C. Water will finally be able to see the extent of the damage, remove the rock dam and replace the pipe. The utility estimated it will be 4 to 6 weeks until normal flow is returned to the Interceptor.

    “They’re just realizing how serious the situation is. And the more cynical way to look at it is that the president made a very loud case this week that something needs to be done, and the mayor is responding,” Austermuhle said of the seemingly late response from the Bowser administration.

    Austermuhle noted that there have long been health advisories surrounding D.C.’s river, but ” this is much more significant than that.”

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Ciara Wells

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  • DC Water looks toward long-term cleanup of C&O Canal, Potomac River – WTOP News

    Later this week, DC Water expects to begin excavating near the collapsed section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line to assess the damage to the pipe and remove boulders wedged inside. At the same time, plans for long-term cleanup are coming together. 

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    See what’s keeping sewage spill away from Potomac River

    D.C. Water is making long-term plans to cleanup land near the C&O Canal — as well as the Potomac River. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)

    Later this week, D.C. Water expects to begin excavating near the collapsed section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line, to assess the damage to the pipe and remove boulders wedged inside.

    At the same time, plans for long-term cleanup are coming together.

    It’s been about a month since the Jan. 19 break, which spilled millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the Potomac River. The utility is prioritizing emergency repairs and beginning to develop long-term plans to clean up land near the C&O Canal — as well as the Potomac River.

    As of Wednesday morning, D.C. Water has installed six of seven high-capacity pumps, a few hundred yards above the collapse site, under the exit ramp off the American Legion Bridge onto the Clara Barton Parkway.

    The pumps are diverting sewage from above the collapse point to an isolated section of the C&O Canal, to bypass the break, before being steered back into the Interceptor below the damaged pipe.

    This week, after blocking wastewater flow to the collapse site, D.C. Water will finally be able to see the extent of the damage, remove the rock dam and replace the pipe. The utility estimated it will be 4 to 6 weeks until normal flow is returned to the Interceptor.

    “I think the best thing D.C. Water can do right now is to get that emergency repair done, so that we eliminate the risk of overflow, and can eliminate the use of that bypass system,” said D.C. Water spokeswoman Sherri Lewis, echoing the priorities of CEO David Gadis, in a Feb. 11 open letter.

    Nearby, the smell of sewage is obvious, and visual evidence of the spill, including toilet paper, hangs on underbrush in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

    “This is one of the areas, obviously, that we are working on, as far as our environmental restoration plans,” Lewis said.

    “We’re working with our federal, state and local regulators on what that environmental restoration plan will entail, and we’ll start that work as soon as we get that plan approved, and we’ll certainly release that to the public.”

    Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will play a key role in coordinating the response.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Watch: See what’s keeping sewage spill away from the Potomac River – WTOP News

    In the month since a major section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed near the Clara Barton Parkway, spilling hundreds of millions of untreated into the Potomac River, D.C. Water is nearing a crucial point in the recovery process.

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    See what’s keeping sewage spill away from Potomac River

    In the month since a major section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed near the Clara Barton Parkway, spilling hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the Potomac River, D.C. Water is nearing a crucial point in the recovery process.

    Five high-capacity pumps have been installed to facilitate the utility’s near-term goal of reaching the break in the massive sewer pipe and removing boulders wedged inside the broken Interceptor.

    The bypass pumps will increase D.C. Water’s ability to divert sewage upstream of the pipe collapse into an isolated section of the C&O Canal.

    A few hundred yards downstream, D.C. Water has installed three wastewater flumes that steer the sewage from the canal back into the Interceptor for the duration of its trip to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.

    Later this week, after a steel bulkhead is completed and the pump system is coordinated and checked, D.C. Water spokeswoman Sherri Lewis said the goal is to drop a gate to block sewage from entering the damaged section of pipe.

    “That’s going to keep that downstream section by the collapse site as dry as possible, so we can go in and safely remove the rock dam that is blocking our access to the damaged section,” Lewis said.

    “Over the past week, we’ve brought in five more high-capacity pumps because we were facing challenges with wipes that were clogging the pumps,” she added. “And when they have to get taken out of service, particularly during a high-flow period, we run the risk of having an overflow situation and having that wastewater go into the Potomac.”

    Lewis said the extra pumps add redundancy to the system.

    “With all the pumps we have on site, once they are all in place and operational, we will have the ability to pump more than 100 million gallons a day, which is well over the capacity that flows through the Potomac Interceptor,” she said.

    With the pump bypass system diverting sewage temporarily into the C&O Canal, the utility company estimates it will take approximately four to six weeks to remove the boulders and replace the broken pipe.

    After the emergency work is completed, D.C. Water will accelerate a section of the planned rehabilitation of the Interceptor, which is scheduled to take approximately nine months.

    Lewis said the utility is already coordinating with other agencies about long-term cleanup plans to ensure human and environmental safety along the portion of the canal that has been used as the bypass; in addition to D.C. Water’s promises of doing what is necessary to ensure the health of the Potomac River.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • What Potomac sewage spillage means for drinking water

    A collapse in the Potomac Interceptor sewer line sent over 200 million gallons of waste water into the Potomac River, prompting recreation advisories while officials said the region’s drinking water remained safe.

    According to DC Water, a section of the 54‑mile Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed on January 19 along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, causing a major overflow into the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The line normally carries about 60 million gallons of wastewater each day from areas including Dulles Airport to D.C.’s Blue Plains treatment plant.

    DC Water said crews quickly moved to build a bypass, which went into service on January 24, using pumps and the C&O Canal to divert flow around the damaged segment.

    Is the Potomac River Drinking Water Safe?

    “It’s important to note, DC Water’s drinking water system is separate from the wastewater system, and we want to reassure the public the drinking water is safe, and water service is NOT affected by this incident,” DC Water said.

    “The overflow is downstream from the Washington Aqueduct’s (Aqueduct) intakes at Great Falls. In coordination with the Aqueduct, the intakes are also closed at Little Falls downstream.” 

    A spokesperson for the agency reiterated to Newsweek on Tuesday that drinking water is not, nor ever was, impacted by the incident, and that the water and sewer systems are separate.

    “We have been coordinating with U.S. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] since the Potomac Interceptor collapsed and appreciate the ongoing support and counsel they have provided. Just last week, we hosted the Assistant Administrator for Water for a tour of the site and briefing on the project and the progress made to date. Our operations team set up a bypass to reroute wastewater around the broken section and limit overflows to the Potomac River,” the spokesperson said.

    “Additional pumps have been installed this week to allow for the excavation of the damaged section to remove a rock dam and allow us to make emergency repairs to the pipe. While repairs are on track for completion within 4–6 weeks, this incident underscores the urgent challenge of aging infrastructure. Continued regional and federal partnership can help restore and strengthen one of the most critical water assets in the region.

    “DC Water stands ready to work together to protect our shared national treasure, the Potomac River,” they added.

    The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said that Fairfax is the closest Virginia community that draws its main water supply from the Potomac River. Its intake point sits several miles upstream from where the spill entered the river, placing it outside the affected area.

    Potomac River Sewage Spillage Mapped

    DC Water released a map showing the spill site and the six locations where E. coli sampling has been underway. The agency said crews are concentrating on clearing debris from the broken pipe so repair work can begin. It also noted that cleanup and remediation planning is in its early stages, with efforts expected to focus on affected areas such as the canals and the Potomac River. Those measures will be developed in coordination with federal, state, and local partners, it said.

    The VDH has issued a recreational water advisory for the river “out of an abundance of caution” due to the spill and a subsequent discharge report on February 7—the area which extends 72.5 miles from the American Legion Memorial Bridge (I-495) in Fairfax County to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (Route 301) in King George County, it said.

    “VDH has observed no evidence of impacts to drinking water at this time,” read a February 13 press release from the agency.

    What People Are Saying

    DC Water CEO David L. Gadis said in an open letter: “We recognize that describing response actions and infrastructure details does not erase the environmental impact or the concern this incident caused. For those who live near the river, recreate on it, or work every day to protect it, witnessing this unfold was distressing. We hear that clearly.

    “This incident has also underscored a broader reality facing utilities across the country: much of the infrastructure that protects our waterways was built decades ago, long before today’s environmental standards, population growth, and climate pressures. The Potomac Interceptor – more than 60 years old – is a critical regional asset, conveying wastewater from across the metropolitan area to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. Its failure reinforces why sustained investment and vigilance are essential.”

    President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River.”

    An EPA spokesperson told The Hill: “DC Water is responsible for responding to the Potomac Interceptor collapse, and there is currently no impact to drinking water systems. EPA inspectors are visiting the site every week to perform compliance monitoring, and EPA will continue to coordinate with DC Water to ensure their efforts are sufficient.”

    What Happens Next

    DC Water said Monday that its crews and contractors were “nearing completion of an enhanced bypass system that will allow emergency repairs to begin on a damaged section of the Potomac Interceptor.”

    “The emergency repair is expected to take another 4-6 weeks once the enhanced bypass system is activated ,” it said.

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  • Progress at Potomac sewer collapse but overflow risk remains, DC Water says – WTOP News

    D.C. Water boosts pumping power and activates a third flume at the Potomac sewer break, but warns overflow risk remains until a rock dam is removed.

    D.C. Water is touting new pumping capacity and a third active flume as signs of progress at the site of the massive Potomac sewer pipe break, even as the utility warns the threat of another overflow won’t subside until a rock dam inside the damaged pipe is removed.

    D.C. Water said Sunday that crews increased pumping power and activated a third wastewater flume while preparing a steel bulkhead that would let crews reach and remove the rock obstruction inside the broken Potomac Interceptor.

    All four new high‑capacity bypass pumps recently installed are now fully primed and operational, which D.C. Water said boosts overall flow capacity and reliability as crews manage higher volumes tied to rainfall and melting snow and ice.

    The utility said the third flume near Lock 10 is now sending wastewater back into the interceptor, adding redundancy to the temporary bypass system.

    D.C. Water said three more bypass pumps have arrived on site and can be brought online later this week to add more capacity if needed.

    Fabrication of a steel bulkhead is nearly finished, with installation expected late next week. Once installed, D.C. Water said the bulkhead will block flow into the damaged section of pipe, allowing crews to stabilize surrounding ground, remove the rock dam inside the interceptor and begin permanent repair work.

    While the utility said there were no overflow events over the weekend that reached surface waters, it continues to warn that overflow potential remains until the obstruction is removed and typical flow conditions are restored.

    D.C. Water said it will continue to publish water‑quality sampling results online once available.

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  • Virginia health officials warn to avoid contact with Potomac River due to sewage spill – WTOP News

    Three weeks after a 72-inch sewage pipe burst along the Clara Barton Parkway, the Virginia Department of Health issued a recreational water advisory Friday telling residents to avoid using D.C.’s main waterway.

    Do not go into the Potomac River.

    Three weeks after a 72-inch sewage pipe burst along the Clara Barton Parkway, the Virginia Department of Health issued a recreational water advisory Friday telling residents to avoid using D.C.’s main waterway.

    Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac starting on Jan. 19 before crews were able to contain the overflow. The area of contamination was just inside the Beltway along the C&O Canal in Montgomery County, Maryland and extended into Virginia. It was considered the largest spill of wastewater in U.S. history.

    With reports of E. coli levels thousands of times higher than the recommended limit for human contact, VDH issued the advisory about river contamination along a 72.5 mile stretch that includes the Northern Virginia area of the Potomac.

    Cleanup is expected to take four to six weeks longer than anticipated and has been marred by setbacks.

    VDH says there is no evidence of impacts to drinking water at this time.

    The advisory says to prevent recreational water illnesses due to exposure to the sewage spill, people should avoid contact with water in the advisory area and should follow advice posted on signs near river access points.

    Residents also need to avoid any area of the water where you smell a foul odor or see dead or dying fish or discolored water. If you do come into contact, wash skin immediately with soap and water and wash any items that come into contact with the water, according to the advisory.

    “When harvesting fish or crabs, discard skin, organs, cook the meat to proper temperature, and clean cutting boards and cutting implements with warm soapy water,” the advisory states.

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  • With the melting snow comes a hazard to our waterways – WTOP News

    As D.C.’s snow and ice finally melt, rising sodium levels from road salt are fueling a growing water‑quality threat.

    The ice and snow that fell on the D.C. area during last month’s storm is finally starting to melt. The ice dunes that have been on the sides of streets for weeks are slowly shrinking. But as the melting continues, there’s a danger that’s seeping into our waterways.

    “Salt is the biggest enemy of fresh water that there ever was,” said Sujay Kaushal, a professor of geology at the University of Maryland. “It’s a very pressing issue. I’d say salinization issues are the oldest, most boring but yet most important problem there is for water quality.”

    Kaushal has been sampling water from the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers for years, as well as water from Piney Branch, Rock Creek and a host of other tributaries. What he’s found is that sodium levels in the water have been rising.

    This issue is the presence of sodium chloride, the main ingredient in most traditional road salt treatments.

    “Over that last 50 years, for example, in the Potomac River, we’ve seen that some of the salt concentrations basically have increased about five-fold,” Kaushal said.

    He said the rise is due largely to the increased amount of road salt used after large snow events.

    Kaushal said while we’ve been seeing less snow in the winter overall, when it does snow, we tend to have extreme snow events, which leads to heavy road treatments. He said the salinization trend is extremely harmful to animals that live in the rivers and streams as well as the vegetation that grows around them.

    “Over the last decade, there’s been a lot of urbanization in the Potomac Watershed and so there’s more impervious surfaces, roadways and parking lots that you have treat with salt, leading to the big (salt) pulses that we see in winter,” Kaushal said.

    So, more roads means more surface area that has to be treated with road salt. All that ends up in the river — or in the soil, where it can stay for a long period of time and be washed out by heavy rain.

    Local governments are trying out alternative de-icers and more precise salting methods to reduce runoff. Still, Kaushal said we won’t see the results of those efforts for some time.

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  • Massive sewage spill into Potomac River: What’s in the water, what are the risks rise as ice melts? – WTOP News

    Questions are being raised about whether D.C. is downplaying the health risks and ongoing environmental damage caused by a sewage pipe that ruptured, sending millions of gallons of wastewater in the Potomac River.

    D.C. Water says new high-capacity bypass pumps are expected to arrive Friday at the site of last month’s sewer pipe break that has poured millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.

    However, questions are being raised about whether the public is being adequately informed about health risks and ongoing environmental damage.

    In an open letter this week, D.C. Water CEO David Gaddis resolved to do everything possible to reclaim the Potomac, following the initial Jan. 17 failure of a 72-inch sewer pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor.

    But data collected by researchers suggests the D.C. government may be downplaying the dangers of the spill, according to a local environmentalist with the Potomac Riverkeeper nonprofit.

    Researchers with the University of Maryland say they’ve been testing the water once a week since Jan. 21.

    “Even last week we’re still measuring E.coli 4,000 times above recreational water quality standards,” said Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Global, Environmental and Occupational Health.

    “We’ve also detected Staphylococcus aureus and the antibiotic resistant strain of staph aureus, which is called MRSA,” Goldstein told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli.

    The findings pose a substantial danger to humans, Goldstein said.

    “It’s really important for public health, because people who interact with the water, and potentially with the lands that was impacted by the water, could become infected with those bacteria,” Goldstein said.

    The recent ice has frozen the risk in place, but warmer weather could exacerbate the situation.

    “Bacteria can survive in a lot of different types of environments,” Goldstein said. “Wastewater sewage is a type of environment that’s very favorable for bacteria growth. So especially as we see the temperature changing and we see the snow following, it’s really important that we continue to follow what’s happening with the water quality over time.”

    Potomac Riverkeeper: DC is ‘sitting on its hands’

    The gravity of the public health and environmental risk is being underplayed, according to Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper, which is part of the nonprofit network dedicated to protecting the public’s right to clean, safe water in the Potomac and Shenandoah watersheds.

    “Everybody keeps deferring to D.C. Water, and it’s a huge mistake,” said Naujoks, claiming the utility has downplayed risks, and miscalculated early E.coli findings, now saying they were actually 100 times higher than initially reported.

    Naujoks believes local and federal governments have been lax in providing leadership in raising public awareness.

    “D.C. is kind of sitting on its hands,” he said.

    Naujoks said the Environmental Protection Agency and the D.C. Office of Energy and the Environment have regulatory oversight of D.C. Water, which he referred to as “the entity that caused one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history.”

    “D.C. Water should not be in this role because they have a vested interest to assure the public that the water is safe,” he said.

    Long-term, he said “If they’re going to restore confidence in people coming back to the water — with crew teams and sailing clubs — we need data, we need sampling, and D.C. is going to have to pay for that to restore the public’s confidence and faith in the Potomac River.”

    On Thursday, D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment issued its strongest advisory: “Residents and pets should not touch the Potomac River, or engage in any Potomac recreational activities including fishing. D.C. drinking water remains safe and unaffected.”

    In addition, the agency said it is “testing contamination levels at three Potomac River sites and three Anacostia River sites. In addition, D.C. Water is testing five other sites. DOEE testing will continue on a weekly basis and results will be made publicly available.”

    WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.

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  • DC Water CEO addresses community in wake of massive sewage spill – WTOP News

    DC Water CEO David Gaddis resolved to do everything possible to reclaim the Potomac River after last month’s disastrous sewer pipe break, he said in an open letter to the community Wednesday.

    D.C. Water CEO David Gaddis resolved to do everything possible to reclaim the Potomac River after last month’s disastrous sewer pipe break, he said in an open letter to the community Wednesday.

    The failure in a section of a 72-inch sewer pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, resulted in the release of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river just inside the Beltway along the C&O Canal in Montgomery County, Maryland. It’s considered the largest spill of wastewater in U.S. history.

    “The Potomac River is a shared natural treasure, and any event that threatens its health understandably causes concern, frustration, and a sense of loss. Those feelings are not only valid — but they are also shared by all of us at DC Water,” Gaddis said in the letter.

    The letter went onto explain that on Jan. 19, crews noticed unusual activity in security cameras monitoring an odor control facility along the C&O Canal. Upon inspection, crews discovered the break.

    In the days since the discovery, D.C. Water personnel and contractors worked to “contain the overflow, protect public safety, and begin repairs.”

    A bypass system was constructed to pump waste around the damaged area of the pipe and reinsert it into a section of the structure downstream.

    Complicating the repairs was the discovery last week of a large rock dam blocking a significant section of the pipe about 30 feet south of the break. D.C. Water is waiting for five large capacity pumps to arrive from Texas and Florida to increase pumping capacity. They then plan to build a bulkhead near the break to divert more water so workers can safely remove the boulders.

    D.C. Water expects this to take up to an extra six weeks to accomplish.

    Gaddis noted that DC Water will be dedicating resources not only to the repairs but also to an environmental restoration program to mitigate the damage that’s already been done.

    The letter detailed a $625 million investment to rehabilitate the Potomac Interceptor as part of a 10-year, $10 billion Capital Improvement Program.

    Gaddis pointed out that several tunnels they’ve built along the Northeast Boundary, and are currently building along the Potomac, have resulted in billions of gallons of combined sewage being prevented from entering the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers through the utility’s Clean Rivers Project.

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  • DC Water says it will take longer to repair broken sewer pipe in Potomac River spill – WTOP News

    It’s going to take at least another four weeks to repair a large sewer pipe that collapsed last month, spilling wastewater into the Potomac River.

    A recently placed warning sign is seen at the sight of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)(AP/Cliff Owen)

    The large sewer pipe that collapsed on Jan. 19, resulting in millions of gallons of wastewater being spilled into the Potomac River, is going to take four to six weeks longer to repair.

    That’s because D.C. Water has discovered a giant rock dam south of the site of the original collapse.

    “This will require us to bring in additional equipment to remove the obstruction,” said D.C. Water spokesperson Sherri Lewis, adding the sewage flow has been successfully bypassed around the failed pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor.

    “These giant industrial vacuums that we use can’t suck the boulders out because they are so big,” she said.

    Personnel will have to go into the pipe to remove the rocks manually. Additional pumps are being brought in from Texas and Florida to complete the task, but that will add more time to complete the repairs.

    In the meantime, water quality tests conducted by the University of Maryland and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network have found alarmingly high levels of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections, in several samples taken from Jan. 21 to Jan. 28.

    Contamination levels are much higher near the break site, which is in Montgomery County along the C&O Canal and Clara Barton Parkway. But bacterial contamination has been detected nine miles down river.

    Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks urged the local health departments to issue a public alert about the contamination.

    “We’re getting calls and emails literally every day from people who are concerned,” Naujoks said. “We’re demanding that these public health agencies in Maryland and most importantly D.C. do their jobs and start protecting public health and just err on the side of caution and issue an advisory.”

    Leaders of the Washington Aqueduct have said drinking water isn’t being impacted by the spill. The main pumping station that supplies water to the aqueduct is several miles north of the failed pipe.

    A station closer to the spill site has been offline since before the break — and the aqueduct’s general manager said it will stay that way until water quality levels are back to normal.

    D.C. Water will build a large pit upstream of the collapse site in order to access the existing sewer line and to install new, high-capacity pumps. Five more pumps — coming from Florida and Texas — will increase the pumps on site to 13 and expand the capacity to more than 100 million gallons per day, allowing the diversion of wastewater so crews can safely remove the rocks.

    D.C. Water has put up signs along the C&O Canal at river access points alerting people to the dangers of coming into contact with the water.

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  • ‘Dangerous and deadly’: First responders urge people to stay off the ice – WTOP News

    Whether it’s a backyard pond, an area lake or the Potomac River, first responders are urging the public to stay off the ice.

    Whether it’s a backyard pond, an area lake or the Potomac River, first responders are urging the public to stay off the ice.

    Pete Piringer, spokesperson for Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Service, told WTOP, “Any kind of natural ice is problematic — it might be thick in one area and thin in another.”

    D.C. Harbormaster Lt. Andrew Horos, with the D.C. police department’s Harbor Patrol Unit, echoed that.

    Horos said the department has an airboat that it can use in the kind of frigid weather the region has been experiencing.

    “When we go out there, it will be on a thick sheet of ice, gliding across, and it looks exactly the same. We’ll move to another portion of ice, and the boat will sink in and crack the ice and fall in the water. So it’s very hard to tell how thick that ice is just by looking at it,” he said.

    Horos pointed out that it’s important to understand that a seemingly placid, ice-covered surface is deceptive.

    That’s especially true of the Potomac River, with its powerful currents.

    “Unlike a pond, where you would fall through and you would kind of stay in that area and people would be able to come and rescue you; if you fall in that area with a strong undertow, you’re going to get swept under the ice, making it very dangerous and deadly,” Horos said.

    Falling into cold water — even when it hasn’t frozen over — is also extremely hazardous, Piringer said.

    “It only takes a couple of minutes before you will lose your breath, your body kind of shuts down, and you can become incapacitated and unable to get out,” he said.

    Aside from the hazards posed by falling through the ice into frigid waters, Horos pointed out it’s illegal to walk on the river under D.C. Municipal Regulations.

    Those regulations say that “no person shall engage in any recreational activities that include, or may result in, direct physical contact with ice on District of Columbia waters. These activities shall include, but not be limited to, walking on the ice, ice skating, ice sledding, ice boating, ice fishing and the use of a vehicle or other device on the ice.”

    Piringer said that when it comes to getting out and enjoying the ice, whether it’s to practice slap shots or perfect your triple Lutz, “We believe the only really safe ice is in an ice rink.”

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  • Investigator describes intense air traffic at time of deadly midair collision near DC – WTOP News

    The NTSB will recommend additional action, and the families of the victims have said they hope that leads to meaningful changes.

     

    WASHINGTON (AP) — An air traffic controller felt a “little overwhelmed” by numerous aircraft around Reagan airport just minutes before an American Airlines jet collided midair last year with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing 67 people, an investigator said Tuesday at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing to determine the biggest factors in the crash.

    During the hearing’s early stages, some themes emerged: The jet’s pilot had no warning about the helicopter, and airspace was crowded the night of Jan. 29, 2025.

    “It will not be an easy day,” NTSB board member Todd Inman said in his opening remarks. “There is no singular person to blame for this. These were systemic issues across multiple organizations.”

    Everyone aboard the jet, flying from Wichita, Kansas, and the helicopter died when the two aircraft collided and plummeted into the icy Potomac River. It was the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001.

    The Federal Aviation Administration made several changes after the crash to ensure helicopters and planes no longer share the same airspace around the nation’s capital, and last week made those changes permanent. The NTSB will recommend additional action, and families of the victims have said they hope that leads to meaningful change.

    NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said she couldn’t believe the FAA didn’t realize the helicopter route in use during the crash didn’t provide adequate separation from planes landing on Reagan’s secondary runway.

    “We know over time concerns were raised repeatedly, went unheard, squashed — however you want to put it — stuck in red tape and bureaucracy of a very large organization,” Homendy said. “Repeated recommendations over the years.”

    NTSB investigator Katherine Wilson said an air traffic controller felt a “little overwhelmed” when traffic volume increased to 10 aircraft about 10 to 15 minutes before the collision, but then “felt the volume was manageable when one or two helicopters left the airspace.”

    Yet about 90 seconds before the collision, Wilson said, “traffic volume increased to a maximum of 12 aircraft consisting of seven airplanes and five helicopters. Radio communication showed that the local controller was shifting its focus between airborne, ground and transiting aircraft.”

    The workload “reduced his situational awareness,” Wilson said.

    NTSB investigators showed a video animation to demonstrate how difficult it would have been for the pilots in both aircraft to spot the other amid the lights of Washington. The animation also showed how the windshields of both aircraft and the helicopter crew’s night vision goggles restricted views.

    Some people were escorted from the room, including two in tears, as an animation of the flights began. Several entered the auditorium wearing black shirts bearing the names of crash victims.

    “I hope that we see a clear path through the recommendations they offer to ensure that this never happens again,” Rachel Feres, who lost her cousin Peter Livingston and his wife and two young daughters in the crash, said ahead of the hearing. “That nobody else has to wake up to hear that an entire branch of their family tree is gone, or their wife is gone or the child is gone. That’s what I hope coming out of this. I hope we have clarity and urgency.”

    Whether that happens depends on how Congress, the Army and the Trump administration respond after the hearing. Victims’ families say they will keep the pressure on officials to act.

    Young Alydia and Everly Livingston were among 28 members of the figure skating community who died in the crash. Many of them had been in Wichita for a national skating competition and development camp.

    The NTSB has already spelled out many key factors that contributed to the crash and detailed what happened that night. That includes a poorly designed helicopter route past Reagan airport, the fact that the Black Hawk was flying 78 feet (23.7 meters) higher than it should have been, the warnings that the FAA ignored in the years beforehand, and the Army’s move to turn off a key system that would have broadcast the helicopter’s location more clearly.

    Several other high-profile crashes and close calls followed the D.C. collision, alarming the flying public. But NTSB statistics show that the total number of crashes last year was the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, with 1,405 nationwide.

    ___

    Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska, and White reported from Detroit. AP Airlines writer Rio Yamat contributed from Las Vegas.

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  • Massive sewage spill flowing into Potomac River upstream from Washington – WTOP News

    A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington D.C., polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling.

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    Massive sewage spill flowing into Potomac River upstream from Washington

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling.

    DC Water, which operates the sewer system, is hooking up pumps to divert sewage around the rupture and allow crews to make repairs. It has cautioned people to stay out of the area and to wash their skin if exposed.

    The spill was caused by a 72-inch (183-centimeter) diameter sewer pipe that collapsed late Monday, shooting sewage out of the ground and into the river. DC Water spokesperson John Lisle said the utility estimates the overflow at about 40 million gallons (about 150 million liters) each day — enough to fill about 66 Olympic-size swimming pools — but it’s not clear exactly how much has spilled into the river since the overflow began.

    Signs warn the public to stay away

    “Oh, my god, the smell is horrific,” said Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and part of an environmental nonprofit. “It’s such high concentrations of sewage that just grabbing a sample is a public health risk.”

    Associated Press video from the scene showed signs posted near the river that read “DANGER” and “Raw Sewage” and warned people not to enter the area. Naujoks and another man donned protective gloves to take samples of water from the river to test for E. coli and other bacteria. Small bits of debris could be seen floating in some of the sample bottles.

    The spill occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, along Clara Barton Parkway, which hugs the northern edge of the Potomac River near Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.

    Crews are removing lock gates on the C & O Canal and will set up pumps to divert the sewage into the canal, rerouting it away from the river and back into the sewage system downstream. The pumps have enough capacity to capture all of the sewage flow in dry weather, said Lisle, but they could be overwhelmed by a surge in stormwater. Crews will work through the weekend, when a bad winter storms is expected, Lisle said, and they hope to have the bypass set up by Monday.

    The spill does not impact drinking water, which is a separate system, DC Water said.

    Naujoks said the spill is happening at time when the river is low. He went out to look at it Wednesday and was “kind of stunned.”

    “Sewage is just bubbling up like a small geyser, maybe 2, 3 feet into the air,” he said. “Sewage water is running in every direction.”

    The District of Columbia Department of the Environment did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including whether it is testing the river’s water.

    Damaged pipeline is one of several sections identified for repair

    DC Water knew the pipeline was deteriorating, and rehabilitation work on a section about a quarter-mile from the break began in September and was recently completed, Lisle said. Repair work on additional “high priority” sections of the pipeline is expected to start later this year, according to the DC Water website.

    The pipeline, called the Potomac Interceptor, was first installed in the 1960s.

    There’s a huge funding gap for water infrastructure in the U.S., said Gary Belan, a senior director with American Rivers, an environmental organization that advocates for clean waterways.

    “I know a lot of the wastewater folks are trying to catch up as best they can, but this is something we see and will continue to see, where these pipes fail and these massive sewage dumps occur,” Belan said. “This is why we can’t defer maintenance of our wastewater infrastructure. Too often, we’re dependent on these disasters to prod us forward.”

    Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, speaking at a press conference declaring a snow emergency for the impending storm, said authorities there were aware of the sewage spill “but I can’t give you an intelligent response right now.” She said D.C. officials would be more forthcoming as soon as they could.

    Kelly Offner, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson for the mid-Atlantic region, said the agency was coordinating with DC Water, the Maryland Department of the Environment and other federal, state and local authorities to assess the impact on the environment from the Potomac Interceptor sanitary sewer overflow. The federal agency oversees DC Water’s sewer operations under a 2015 federal consent decree.

    “DC Water has provided daily updates since the overflow was discovered on January 19, 2026, and has been coordinating efforts to contain the overflow, monitor environmental impacts, and communicate with the public,” Offner said in an emailed response to questions.

    An EPA survey of wastewater infrastructure needs from 2022 estimated that the District of Columbia needs roughly $1.33 billion to replace or rehabilitate structurally deteriorating sanitary or combined sewers within the next 20 years.

    Nationally, hundreds of billions in infrastructure investment is needed over the next two decades for clean water problems like aging sewer pipes. In other places where sewer breaks are persistent, it can lead to backups into homes and regular flooding.

    ___

    Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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  • DC Water announces second source of drinking water after vulnerable Potomac River – WTOP News

    DC Water has announced a second source and outlined plans to make the region’s water supply more resilient.

    Nine years after WTOP reported D.C. only has a one or two-day supply of drinking water if the Potomac River became unavailable, DC Water has announced a second source and outlined plans to make the region’s water supply more resilient.

    The second source is recycled water from the utility’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest of its kind in the world.

    David Gadis, CEO and general manager of DC Water, in unveiling the Pure Water DC initiative to a room full of stakeholders, said any disruption of the Potomac River would result in a national security emergency and cause a massive economic impact to the region.

    “D.C.’s particular situation requires both storage and a second source,” said Rabia Chaudhry, the utility’s director of Water Supply Resilience.

    Until now, the Potomac River has been the sole source for water processed at the Washington Aqueduct, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Over the past 9 years, the Travilah Quarry in Rockville, Maryland, which yielded crushed stone to build the Intercounty Connector and widen Interstate 270, has been considered as part of the solution.

    “The quarry is a really great long-term storage solution, but it’s not in the near future,” Chaudhry said. “Right now, the understanding is it might be 30 years into the future.”

    However, Gadis, Chaudhry and others said the need to harden the area’s water supply can’t wait.

    “We are advancing a second source through water recycling — that’s an opportunity that can come online, maybe within the next decade or so,” Chaudhry said. “Water recycling is an opportunity that’s being used around the world, in the Western U.S. — California, Texas, Utah and Colorado — to make communities drought-resistant.”

    The wastewater that will be recycled currently flows to the Blue Plains facility.

    “It uses water that’s already been collected at sewage treatment plants, treats them to near-distilled-quality levels, and then allows that water to be mixed in with drinking water sources,” Chaudhry said.

    One challenge of the project is demonstrating to the public that recycled water is safe to drink.

    “There’s a name for the idea — it’s called ‘the yuck factor,’” Chaudhry said, citing a common initial response to the idea of purifying wastewater for drinking. “There’s a known process, on how you engage with the public to overcome the ‘yuck factor.’”

    With $21 million of seed-funding approved by DC Water’s Board of Directors, ground is expected to be broken early next year for the Pure Water DC Discovery Center on the grounds of Blue Plains.

    The facility will be used to pilot technologies to create purified drinking water, conduct research and communicate with regulators, and provide a chance for the public to see and learn about the process up close.

    Even without taking the purification to the next level, Chaudhry said many would be surprised by the quality of wastewater that is currently processed at Blue Plains.

    “Blue Plains water, when it’s discharged into the Potomac River, is cleaner than the receiving water,” she said. “You can see it in the satellite imagery.”

    The receiving water is processed upriver at the Aqueduct located on MacArthur Boulevard.

    In fact, Chaudhry said about 5% of the Potomac River water which reaches the Aqueduct’s intakes to begin the purification process for customers in the District and Arlington, comes from upstream wastewater facilities.

    “We’re all downstream of somebody,” she said.

    DC Water plans to provide its water reuse feasibility findings to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is in the midst of a three-year study funded through Congress to bolster the region’s water supply.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Potomac River gets a ‘B’ for water quality for 5th year in a row – WTOP News

    It’s not fishable or swimmable yet, but according to the Potomac Conservancy, the Potomac River earned a grade of “B” for the fifth year in a row.

    It’s not fishable or swimmable yet, but according to the Potomac Conservancy, the Potomac River earned a grade of “B” for the fifth year in a row.

    At a news conference overlooking the Potomac River at the Capital Yacht Club, Hedrick Belin, president of the Potomac Conservancy, told reporters Wednesday, “It certainly is a big turnaround from the dismal ‘D’ that it received in 2011, but it also means that progress has stalled.”

    “The Potomac comeback is a great story — but it’s still in progress,” Belin said. “To truly make it an ‘A’ river, we need everyone. Whether you’re cleaning shorelines, signing letters or planting trees, everyone has a role to help protect the lifeblood of our region and our communities.”

    Belin said the organization is hoping to raise $8 million before the end of the year for its Clean Water, Healthy Communities campaign.

    Among the hurdles to getting to that A rating, according to Michael Nardolilli, executive director with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, is development that results in the loss of forest land.

    “That means that there are more impervious surfaces and there’s less opportunity for water, when it rains, to sink into the ground,” Nardolilli said, adding that creates runoff that pollutes the river.

    Part of the solution, he said, would be to intensify efforts to add what environmentalists call “riparian buffers,” or strips of land with vegetation, along rivers and streams.

    “So that there is natural vegetation that can help filter out pollutants before they reach the river,” Nardolilli said.

    U.S. Rowing Olympian Aquil Abdullah, who describes himself as an advocate and steward for the environment, said he’s noticed the improvement along the river.

    “The wildlife, the number of herons that we see now, when I’m out there, is a clear indicator that we’re on the right track,” Abdullah said.

    But he agreed with Belin that there’s more work to be done.

    The report indicates while some native fish species, such as American shad, are recovering, others, such as smallmouth bass, are struggling.

    The report card from the Potomac Conservancy also points to a boost in recreation on and around the Potomac River, surging 10% since 2020.

    Nico Foris, CEO of Guest Services Inc. based in Fairfax, Virginia, which operates boating facilities including Thompson Boat Center near Georgetown and the Columbia Island Marina, said part of the strategy to support interest in the health of the Potomac River can be summed up as getting “butts in boats.” He explained once people get out on the water, “there’s a vested interest” in getting, and keeping, the river healthy.

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    Kate Ryan

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