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Tag: sewage leak

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

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    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.

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    Kate Ryan

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

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    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.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • West Jackson family dealing with sewage overflow in backyard

    West Jackson family dealing with sewage overflow in backyard

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    A west Jackson family is dealing with a smelly case of raw sewage in their backyard. A sign that says, “Caution: sewage overflow; avoid bodily contact with water,” was placed by the city a few feet away from Chessica Winford’s backyard in the Queens neighborhood. She said city workers placed the warning there because of the chronic sewage issue.”It’s just disgusting,” Winford said. “It’s showing that it’s a sewage overflow, so why wouldn’t y’all do something about it? We can smell it in the air.”The stench is so thick that Winford said she wears a mask while in her backyard. The main sewage line comes out of a manhole next door and leaks into her backyard. Winford is frustrated because she has two young children who she said could easily step into the hole. Winford said she’s tried to get the city of Jackson to come fix it. She’s called the Public Works Department and has visited the city’s office but hasn’t had any success.The city of Jackson is looking into the matter.

    JACKSON, Miss. —

    A west Jackson family is dealing with a smelly case of raw sewage in their backyard.

    A sign that says, “Caution: sewage overflow; avoid bodily contact with water,” was placed by the city a few feet away from Chessica Winford’s backyard in the Queens neighborhood. She said city workers placed the warning there because of the chronic sewage issue.

    “It’s just disgusting,” Winford said. “It’s showing that it’s a sewage overflow, so why wouldn’t y’all do something about it? We can smell it in the air.”

    The stench is so thick that Winford said she wears a mask while in her backyard. The main sewage line comes out of a manhole next door and leaks into her backyard. Winford is frustrated because she has two young children who she said could easily step into the hole.

    Winford said she’s tried to get the city of Jackson to come fix it. She’s called the Public Works Department and has visited the city’s office but hasn’t had any success.

    The city of Jackson is looking into the matter.

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