DC Water holds meeting to discuss updates on Potomac Interceptor repairs

WASHINGTON - Officials with DC Water briefed the media on Thursday, more than six weeks after the Potomac Interceptor collapse sent millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac.

The briefing wrapped up in the afternoon, and DC Water officials covered a lot of ground.

What they're saying:

Officials say they’ve launched an independent, third-party investigation looking into how this happened — something we’ve heard a lot of community members say they want.

DC Water also detailed what they believe may be the cause of this issue, or at least a major contributing factor. Officials say that when it was constructed, large boulders were improperly placed above part of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line. Those huge rocks fell into the pipe when it broke, according to DC Water. 

"While it is too early to draw definitive conclusions, we are seeing indications that this incident may have been highly unusual, the event that occurred, that would set it apart from any others that have happened in the past," said David Gadis, general manager and CEO of DC Water. "This is a once in a lifetime type break. I have spoken to individuals that have been in this business 30, 40, and 20 years and so forth, and no one’s ever seen a break like this or of this magnitude."

Officials say the boulders may have caused an almost complete blockage as opposed to a partial blockage, which would be more typical, making the problem that much worse.

"In normal sewer breaks, in normal sewer failures, you have a partial blockage of the pipe. The vast majority of the flow still gets through. You may have some loss of soil. You don’t have the equivalent of almost 100 percent blockage of the pipe," said Clean Rivers and Potomac Interceptor Program Manager John Cassidy. "I think that’s why we’re saying this is the equivalent of once in a lifetime, I don’t know that any of us have ever seen that degree of a complete blockage of the pipe before in such a quick amount of time."

Dig deeper:

Officials also talked about past inspections of the Potomac Interceptor, saying they’ve concluded that based on information they had at the time, there was no reason to believe something like this could be coming.

DC Water says environmental restoration work is now underway. This is an important step as officials had previously said that some of that work couldn’t be done until those initial, lengthy emergency repairs were complete.

Warnings lifted:

The Virginia Department of Health has lifted the recreational use advisory for parts of the affected area, but the warning remains in place from the American Legion Bridge to Chain Bridge. The Department of Health says testing still shows elevated E. coli levels in that area. 

The advisory was issued February 13, out of an abundance of caution due to the sewage spills after the Potomac Interceptor broke.

In Maryland, health officials now say Charles and Prince George’s counties have also lifted their recreational water advisories. the advisory for Montgomery County, however, will remain in effect until further notice.

Despite these advisories being lifted, health officials in both states continue to urge caution. 

To prevent recreational water illnesses due to exposure to sewage spill events, people should:

• Avoid contact with water in the advisory area and observe advisory signage posted at waterbody access points.
• Avoid any area of the water body where water has a foul odor, dead or dying fish, or discolored water.
• Promptly wash skin with soap and water if you cannot avoid contact with water in the vicinity.
• Rinse or wash items that come into contact with the water, including clothing, fishing gear, life vests, ropes and paddles.
• Avoid consumption of any food or water from an impacted area
• Keep pets away from an impacted area 

If you come into contact with an impacted area and experience vomiting, diarrhea, a rash, or skin irritation after exposure, contact your health care provider immediately.