A coalition of D.C.-area representatives is seeking more funding for infrastructure upgrades as authorities continue to monitor the effects of a massive sewage spill in the Potomac.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) was among 14 members of Congress from the region who requested federal funding today (Tuesday) to rehabilitate and modernize the burst Potomac Interceptor. The delegation is also seeking additional funds for wastewater infrastructure nationwide following a recent briefing on efforts to repair the sewer line and mitigate health risks.
“Congress must play a role in solving this crisis, investing in our nation’s wastewater infrastructure, and preventing this and similar crises from recurring,” the representatives wrote. “The failure of the Potomac Interceptor is an acute crisis for our region.”
In a virtual meeting with D.C. regional officials yesterday (Monday), DC Water officials outlined steps taken since the Jan. 19 sewer pipe collapse just east of the American Legion Bridge. The collapse happened in a section of the Potomac Interceptor, which carries about 60 million gallons of sewage daily from Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the towns of Vienna and Herndon, Dulles Airport and Montgomery County, Md.
The company said it has stopped the overflow into the Potomac River as of Feb. 9, after an estimated 243 million gallons of sewage entered the waterway.
“We recognize the environmental concerns raised by the residents, the environmental organizations, elected officials,” David Gadis, DC Water’s CEO and general manager, told regional officials. “One of the things we want to be clear about is where we stand today here at DC Water, and DC Water is fully diverting all wastewater away from the damaged section of the interceptor, our enhanced bypass pumping system.”
Matthew Brown, chief operating officer at DC Water, said the company estimated 40 millions gallons of sewage entered the Potomac River daily from Jan. 19 to 24. That fell to 5 million gallons per day as DC Water activated its temporary bypass pumping system to prevent sewage from entering the Potomac River.
According to Brown, the temporary system can capture and redirect small spills before they can enter the river — as was the case with an 1,800-gallon overflow on Feb. 9.
DC Water is now working on repairing the collapsed pipe section, replacing the bulkhead and bypass chamber to handle additional flow.
“We anticipate we will have this work done by mid-March and encompasses reaching the blockage, removing the blockage and reinforcing sections of pipe upstream and downstream with the break so that we can return flow,” said Brown during the briefing. “After flows return then to the asset, that emergency repair will be done.”
Crews are working to extend the excavation around a damaged section of the Potomac Interceptor to safely reach part of the pipe blocked by large rocks and debris. Bypass pumping stayed stable overnight. No overflows to the Potomac River in more than two weeks. pic.twitter.com/59GXwPgxzx
— DC Water (@dcwater) February 23, 2026
The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, which provides analysis on contaminants reaching water intake locations, had been requested by federal and state environmental agencies on Jan. 25 to review the Potomac Interceptor break. Cherie Schultz, a co-op director with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, noted the sewage spill occurred south of all drinking water intake locations except the Washington Aqueduct’s Little Falls backup intake, which wasn’t in use at the time.
DC Water, Arlington County and Fairfax Water drinking water customers are served by the Washington Aqueduct intake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which set up an emergency operations center at the spill site on Feb. 20, confirmed the secondary intake at Little Falls remains closed and that regional drinking water is safe.
“Washington Aqueduct’s Little Falls intake is just a backup, but it is important and it’s especially important in case we’re hit by a severe drought this summer, because in that case they do need to switch to the Little Falls intake if flows fall below certain levels,” Schultz said.
Schultz said other sections of the Potomac Interceptor upstream from water supply intakes should be prioritized for future repairs.
Testing and public health monitoring continue
E. coli testing has been happening daily since Jan. 29 at six sites — Old Anglers Inn upstream, Drainage Channel at the overflow site, and downstream at Fletcher’s Boathouse, Georgetown at Wisconsin Avenue, Anacostia River at South Capitol Street and National Harbor. Two others were added on Feb. 18 at Minnie Island near the overflow site.
Testing results from Sunday, Feb. 22, showed E. coli levels above the EPA-recommended limit of 410 per 100 milliliters near the Drainage Channel overflow site, Georgetown at Wisconsin Avenue and Anacostia River at South Capitol Street.
Samples at National Harbor, the farthest testing site downstream from the spill, have not exceeded EPA’s standard on any testing day.
D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment said it is doing its own testing at three Potomac River sites and three on the Anacostia River — Fletcher’s Cove, Key Bridge, 14th Street Bridge, Washington Ship Channel, South Capitol Street Bridge and Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge. It is aiming to increase testing frequency to daily next week.
Jonathan Champion, associate director of water quality at D.C.’s DOEE, said E. coli levels were below water quality standards during Feb. 9-10 testing. However, a Feb. 17 test found spiked levels upstream of the Anacostia River at the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge. Champion says officials believe that is associated with stormwater runoff, not the Potomac Interceptor sewage spill.
DC Water is also working with the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA to divert stormwater runoff from contaminated land.
The Virginia Department of Health recommends residents avoid recreational activities in the Potomac River between the American Legion Memorial Bridge in Fairfax County to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (Route 301) in King George County.
“We’re starting to get questions about, when will the recreational advisory be lifted for Virginia,” said Lance Gregory, director of the Virginia Department of Health’s Onsite Sewage and Water Services Division. “At this point, we’re just trying to emphasize that the advisory is going to remain in effect until sustainable repairs are complete, but we are continuing to review information as that comes in and water sample data.”
Luke Davies, a health director with the Virginia Department of Health, said the state agency is working in a support capacity to aid Maryland and D.C. The state health department worked with localities and parks to issue advisories due to the spill.
On Feb. 17, the state’s health department conducted 36 water samples south of the Route 301 bridge, where many shellfish live. Officials do not believe shellfish in the lower Potomac River on the Virginia side have been impacted.
Schultz said environmental scientists will need to investigate the implications of the sewage spill in the coming months and years.
“The nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from the sewage may increase growth of algae downstream and may increase the likelihood this summer of harmful algal blooms,” Schultz said. “Secondly, the deposition of solid sewage material on the riverbed may increase biological oxygen demand this summer in the river sediments and the likelihood of fish kills.”
DC Water said there are $600 million in repairs planned for the Potomac Interceptor over the next 10 years.
“It is important to note, though, that this incident does not reflect a systematic failure on the Potomac Interceptor,” Gadis said. “However, it reinforces the importance of the Potomac Interceptor and the continued investment that must occur in the Potomac Interceptor for us to get to where we need to get.”
