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Maryland residents speak out about Potomac sewage spill response
Officials are facing questions from the public more than five weeks after the Potomac Interceptor collapse sent millions of gallons of sewage into the river. On Wednesday night, D.C. residents got their chance to speak out. On Thursday, it was Maryland residents’ turn. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal was there.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Officials are facing questions from the public more than five weeks after the Potomac Interceptor collapse sent millions of gallons of sewage into the river.
On Wednesday night, D.C. residents got their chance to speak out. On Thursday, it was Maryland residents’ turn.
What they're saying:
A lot of people came out to the meeting, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, who said his office organized the meeting.
"I’m reassured that DC Water is acting very aggressively to try to repair this, but there’s still a hundred questions out there about what the affect is on the C&O Canal, what the impact is on the Potomac River," Raskin said. "What’s the affect is on our ecosystem?"
Just like Wednesday night’s community meeting in Southeast, the one held at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda started with a very detailed presentation from officials with D.C. Water.
They touched on restoring public confidence, explained how the collapse happened, highlighted the steps taken in response to the collapse, how our drinking water is safe and steps they’re taking to clean up the environment.
We also heard from officials with the state of Maryland and Montgomery County. Then came the Q and A.
What they're saying:
Speaker after speaker expressed deep concern, including about the impact to the environment, remediation plans, accountability, and also about when people can safely get back on the water.
Here’s some of what we heard from community members.
"Millions of gallons of sewage flowing into the Potomac is a big problem. So, we should all be concerned about it," said Barbara Dezalduondo.
"I don’t know what their cleanup remediation would be if it’s already in the river," resident Christian Ferro said.
"My interest is recognizing that we have old infrastructure, recognizing that there was a break," Mary Ann Fisher said. "What’s the plan to remediate it as quickly as possible?"
What's next:
D.C. Water officials said several times that there will be additional opportunities for public engagement.
Clearly, neighbors are expressing that is something many people want.