The Potomac Interceptor’s January 19 rupture near the I-495/Clara Barton Parkway interchange which discharged at least 243 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River was a “temporary insult,” Michael Rolband, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), told a March 19 gathering at Alexandria’s Lee Center.
“We believe the water is safe for contact,” he asserted, but “not recommended for swimming.” As the sewage flows down the river, “It gets diluted,” he offered and state tests show “no significant impacts to fisheries and recreational activities.”
The tests at that time showed E. coli bacteria levels “significantly below all the thresholds,” Rolband said, meaning they are below the Environmental Protection Agency’s level for unsafe swimming.
He emphasized, however, that people should cook any fish from the Potomac and “wash your hands.”
“This is an urban river,” Rolband cautioned, with dog and cat excrement and other factors contributing to pollution.
Some untreated sewage ends up in area water bodies normally, Rolband said. “While it’s disgusting, it actually happens every time there’s a significant rain. There’ll always be some, but the river is getting much cleaner,” recalling that in the 1970s he could not swim through river’s the algae mats.
He commended Alexandria and the District of Columbia for infrastructure projects underway to address their combined sewer overflow systems which send sewage into the river during significant rainfalls. Alexandria’s project should be finished this summer; D.C.’s, by 2030.
Matthew Brown, DC Water’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the pipe, which carries 60 million gallons of raw sewage daily 54 miles, from Dulles Airport to the Blue Plains Treatment plant in southeast Washington, serves half a million people. His agency avoided two billion gallons of overflow, Brown said and workers hauled off 2,341 tons of debris, equal to 1,300 cars and “pulled out enough rags and wipes to fill a swimming pool.”
Flow resumed on March 14 and most recreation advisories have been lifted. DEQ is continuing normal water sampling at Northern Virginia sites like Hunting Creek, Little Hunting Creek, Dogue Creek, Pohick Creek and the Occoquan River.
Local fishing guide Rob Snowhite is hopeful for the spring season. He emailed, “I was hesitant at first and thought the entire year would be a washout. However, the spill was contained and I think we are good to go. I have been selling a lot of shad flies through my ETSY shop so I know local anglers are not discouraged by the spill.”
Longer Term
Beyond immediate effects, other impacts like future algae blooms and contaminated sediments concern some people.
George Mason University scientists, in collaboration with the Potomac Riverkeeper, the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin and the Potomac Rivers Fisheries Commission, are studying some long-term spill impacts.
Dr. Cindy Smith at GMU’s Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, said, “We are documenting how water conditions, aquatic life and the river’s food web change in real time.” From the Woodrow Wilson Bridge south to Piney Point, they are measuring water turbidity, fecal coliforms, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, phytoplankton, fish diversity and heavy metals, for example. Others are doing studies upstream. GMU’s data “may be collected over multiple years,” Smith emailed.
Remediation Plan Questioned
At the March 19 meeting, Amanda Zander, the DC Water’s remediation manager, reported that the agency will clean up debris, plant plants and trees, remove materials down to the clay layer and rehabilitate the topsoil, among other steps.
Betsy Nicholas, Potomac Riverkeeper Network President, called the restoration plan “disappointing” at a March 11 gathering at Alexandria’s Lost Boy Cider. At that time, there had been “zero public engagement,” she charged and said that the plan only focused on the immediate spill area and not long-term impacts. “We need a comprehensive plan,” she said.
In a March 27 report, the Riverkeepers called the plan “insufficient to restore impacted communities and the health of the Potomac River.”
A 1960s Pipe
What caused the collapse?
“The pipe just got old,” Rolband said, adding, “It’s a collective problem of our society.” The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 report card gave the nation’s wastewater infrastructure a D+ grade and stormwater a D.
Nicholas concurred: “It’s a wake-up call on the infrastructure issues we as a society have been ignoring too long.”
The federal government built the pipe in the 1960s. Washington-area U.S. representatives, led by Virginia Congressman Don Beyer, are seeking federal funds to modernize the interceptor and the area’s aging water infrastructure.
David Gadis, DC Water’s head, closed the March 19 meeting saying, “It’s been a very tough 57 days. This was an old pipe. We are doing everything we can to make sure it does not happen again.”
Opening the meeting, Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins expressed hope that “we can get answers.” Many answers are pending.
Information
DC Water, https://www.dcwater.com/about-dc-water/media/potomac-interceptor-collapse
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, https://www.deq.virginia.gov/news-info/shortcuts/topics-of-interest/potomac-interceptor-collapse
Virginia Department of Health, www.vdh.virginia.gov
Potomac Riverkeeper Network, https://potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/