A broken sewer pipe about 8 miles from the White House has spilled roughly 243 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River, officials say. The collapse occurred on January 19 along the Potomac near the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Montgomery County, Md.
DC Water, which operates the pipe, says the volume released equals about 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Most of the surge happened in the first five days, before interim bypass pumping—used to reroute sewage around the damaged section—was activated. Analysis of river flow data indicates the estimated peak wastewater discharge, about 40 million gallons per day, was roughly 2% of the Potomac’s flow during that period.
While crews worked to access the damaged segment, they discovered a substantial rock blockage inside the ruptured pipe. Removing the boulders and large rocks will require heavy machinery, manual labor and additional equipment being brought in from Florida and Texas. DC Water estimates clearing the blockage will take four to six weeks. The agency says it cannot fully assess the damage or set a timeline for complete repair until the obstruction is removed.
DC Water warned there remains a “residual risk” of additional overflows until full repairs are made, but said further overflows are expected to be minimal. Since February 1, the authority reported E. coli concentrations downstream of the collapse have stayed within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable range for primary contact recreational activities.
Clean-water advocates and local groups, however, have urged public officials to issue health warnings. Betsy Nicholas, president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, said in a statement that “right now, the Potomac River is not safe.” The Riverkeeper Network, working with University of Maryland scientists, said water tests from samples taken nine days after the collapse showed fecal bacteria levels more than 2,700 times the safe limit set by Maryland and Virginia.
DC Water says it continues monitoring water quality and working on repairs, but will not provide a full repair timeline until the rock blockage is cleared and damage assessed.
