Members of a congressional subcommittee this week questioned public works leaders and state officials about their knowledge of existing problems with a sewer line that collapsed near the Potomac River on Jan. 19.
The incident was “one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history,” according to the University of Maryland School of Public Health. A portion of the 72-inch diameter Potomac Interceptor sewer pipe collapsed, spilling more than 242 million gallons of untreated wastewater into the Potomac River.
In response to a question from Rep. John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania), the head of the utility company that oversees the Potomac Interceptor, he said at a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing Wednesday that the sewer pipes had deteriorated due to “rocks that fell into the pipes.” DC Water CEO David Gaddis added that he was aware of the presence of rocks around the pipe since 2018, although he was not aware of the potential danger they posed to this section of the pipeline.
“I hope we don’t have another interruption like this again,” Gaddis said. “But when you’re dealing with aging infrastructure that’s more than 60 years old, there are no guarantees.”
Rep. Frank Pallone (D.N.J.) said the nation’s water infrastructure is in dire need of investment in repairs and system upgrades. He said President Donald Trump has ignored water infrastructure, noting that his proposed budget for the Environmental Protection Agency cuts the Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which provides “resources to make necessary repairs and improvements” to water systems.
“Rather than watering down our water infrastructure program, we should invest in it so that incidents like the Potomac missile collapse are less common than they were before,” Pallone said. “But that’s not what’s happening with this president and this administration. They just don’t care about infrastructure or the financial health of our people.”
Nearly a month after the incident, President Trump called the leak a “Democrat-induced disaster” in a post on Truth Social, announced that the federal government would respond to the breach if called upon, and criticized the governors of Virginia and Maryland and the mayor of Washington, D.C. The Maryland Department of Environmental Protection does not regulate D.C. Water, but it does play a role in cleaning it up, agency officials told Maryland lawmakers during a virtual briefing on Feb. 13.
“There’s no question that this country has an aging infrastructure problem,” Jessica Kramer, the EPA’s assistant secretary for water, said at the hearing. She said the agency is prioritizing assessing current infrastructure vulnerabilities and updating the water infrastructure workforce.
“Luck played a huge role in keeping D.C.’s drinking water safe,” said Rep. Yvette Clark (D.N.Y.). The spill did not affect drinking water because the city’s main water intake is upstream.
“You can’t rely on luck,” she said.
The river is smelly and ‘getting worse’
The Maryland Department of the Environment held a hybrid community meeting Monday with staff from DC Water and Montgomery County Health and Human Services to update residents on ongoing remediation projects and public health guidelines following the incident.
One resident who said he uses the C&O Canal towpath every day asked the speaker, “Why is the smell still there and is it getting worse?” Montgomery County Health Officer Kisha Davis said she was not at the scene and could not answer questions. She assured residents that the towpath is safe.
Untreated sewage flows from a drainage pipe into the C&O Canal near Cabin John, Maryland, on February 18. Credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Residents also raised questions about water quality and whether it can be used for recreation. Eric Nosman, race director for the Potomac Whitewater Racing Center, asked when it would be safe for people to put their kayaks and canoes back in the water. Davis said the county doesn’t yet have enough data to make that determination.
Hugh Hilliard, president of the Canoe Cruisers Association, wanted to know when the area around Rockhouse 10, near the point of collapse, would be reopened to the public after hearing from Davis that the cleanup had already been completed. “The area around Lock 10 is a very popular area for many canoeists, kayakers and others who go down to the river,” he said. There is now a sign there that says “Do not enter this area.”
DC Water’s Gaddis also took questions from residents at a community meeting about rocks on top of a section of the pipeline. DC Water has begun investigating the entire 54 miles of the pipeline, looking for objects on top of the pipe and using techniques such as core drilling, Gaddis said.
“At the heart of this case is America’s aging infrastructure,” Gaddis said during a hearing with lawmakers. “The 54-mile-long Potomac Interceptor was built by the federal government in the 1960s, before many of today’s construction standards existed and long before modern inspection techniques were available.”
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Gabriel Matias Castillo reports on the Washington, DC area. Previously, he worked at Capitol News in Illinois, covering environmental policy, energy and utilities across the state. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Northwestern University.
