A nonprofit environmental group has accused authorities in the US capital of failing to adequately warn the public after a massive sewage spill dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated waste into the Potomac River, in what is believed to be one of the largest such incidents in the country’s history.
The spill began on Jan 19 when a six-foot-wide rupture opened in an ageing sewer line near Lock 10, just upstream of the CIA headquarters in northern Virginia. According to DC Water, Washington’s water utility, about 40 million gallons of raw sewage were released into the river before a temporary bypass was activated on Jan 24, diverting the flow through a canal and into another section of the system.
Despite the bypass, sewage continues to enter the river at a reduced rate as crews attempt to seal the rupture. Repair work has been slowed by subzero temperatures and one of the region’s worst snowstorms in years, much of which had yet to be fully cleared days after it struck.
Dean Naujoks of the Potomac River Keeper Network said authorities had not done enough to communicate the public-health risks posed by the spill. While acknowledging that agencies were working under difficult conditions, he said warnings to residents had been insufficient.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of sewage spills, but this is definitely the largest I’ve ever dealt with,” Mr Naujoks said, adding that his organisation estimates as much as 300 million gallons of sewage may have entered the Potomac — equivalent to roughly 450 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The figure would exceed a widely reported 230-million-gallon spill along the US-Mexico border in 2017.
Water sampling conducted by the group found E. coli bacteria levels up to 12,000 times higher than limits considered safe for human contact. E. coli, which originates in the intestines of mammals, is commonly used as an indicator of water contamination.
Public-health advisories are typically issued during summer months when recreational use of waterways is higher. So far, Maryland has issued a shellfish consumption advisory, but the District of Columbia has not announced similar measures.
DC Water said drinking water supplies remain unaffected, as intake points are located upstream of the rupture. Spokeswoman Sherri Lewis said the damaged line, built in the 1960s, had been slated for repairs under a US$625 million infrastructure upgrade programme, though work had not yet begun.
The Potomac River is both a defining feature of Washington and a major drinking-water source for the wider region.
