D.C. leaders warn residents to steer clear of Potomac River after massive sewage spill

D.C. officials advised residents and pets to avoid touching the Potomac River, weeks after a historic amount of raw sewage spilled into the waterway.

D.C. Water urged people to stay away from the river, especially near the C&O Canal National Historical Park, where an aging sewer pipe broke last month and caused nearly 250 million gallons of wastewater to flood the river.

“The Potomac River is a shared natural treasure, and any event that threatens its health understandably causes concern, frustration, and a sense of loss,” D.C. Water CEO David Gadis wrote in an open letter Wednesday. “Those feelings are not only valid — but they are also shared by all of us at DC Water.”

Authorities said the presence of bacteria and viruses in the water means everyone who comes into contact with the river should wash their skin thoroughly.

Personal belongings that get dampened by the river should also be disinfected immediately, and no one should try fishing in the contaminated body of water.

Researchers at the University of Maryland described the Jan. 19 break as one of the largest wastewater spills in U.S. history.

The university said that the incident sent high concentrations of disease-causing pathogens into the river. Researchers found potent amounts of the bacteria for E.coli and the bacteria associated with Staph infections, as well as an antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA in the overflow.

Officials said the issues started when the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed near Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The fractured pipe sent millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the river. Officials said they weren’t able to stop and reroute the wastewater until Jan. 24.

Mr. Gadis said the agency has committed $625 million to repairing the Potomac Interceptor, which was built more than 60 years ago. The crucial sewer line carries about 60 million gallons of wastewater each day to a treatment plant in Southwest.

University researchers warned that the deep freeze from which the region is just now emerging likely helped preserve the bacteria in the river.

“Although most people are not swimming in the frozen river in February, bacteria can survive in freezing temperatures and become active again when temperatures rise,” Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, a microbiologist and assistant professor at the university, said in a statement.