US EditionDC mayor declares emergency, asks President Trump for help on sewage spill on the Potomac
Mayor Bowser seeks federal aid after a 72-inch sewer pipe collapse released over 240 million gallons of raw sewage, causing elevated pathogen levels and ecological concerns.
- On Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a local public emergency and formally requested a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration from President Donald Trump.
- The 72-inch Potomac Interceptor collapsed on Jan. 19, sending more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the C&O Canal and Potomac River.
- Crews installed pumps, pipes, earthen barriers near Lock 10, and are building an enhanced bypass system to divert sewage; University of Maryland testers found E. coli up to 10,000 times safe levels and fecal bacteria over 2,700 times safe limits.
- The city is seeking 100% reimbursement for costs incurred by the District and DC Water, while the District Department of Energy and Environment has expanded water-quality monitoring and the Environmental Protection Agency leads regulation.
- DC Water expects emergency repairs to take four to six weeks once the bypass is activated, with nine to ten months of rehabilitation and a potential $250 million long-term cost.
70 Articles
70 Articles
A spill of almost 900 million litres into the Potomac River alerted Washington D.C. after the massive discharge of untreated waste contaminated water. The episode, considered the largest of its kind registered in the United States, triggered a federal intervention against environmental and health risk. Since January 19, 2026, more than 900 million litres of waste have been released to the main river course that crosses the U.S. capital. The magn…
Pipe Dream? DC Asks for Federal Funds After Sewage Spill
In the aftermath of a massive sewage leak near the nation’s capital, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is asking President Donald Trump to use his emergency powers to provide federal disaster relief funding. “I respectfully request that you declare a Major Disaster for the District of Columbia in response to a sewer line collapse impacting the Potomac River, in the District, Maryland, and Virginia,” Bowser wrote Trump in a Wednesday letter. Bowser additi…
Dem Mayor Begs Trump to Help End ‘Pootomac’ Sewage Crisis.
PULSE POINTSWHAT HAPPENED: Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is formally requesting assistance from President Donald J. Trump in addressing the ongoing environmental crisis in the Potomac River caused by a collapsed sewer pipe running between Maryland and Virginia.WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Muriel Bowser, President Donald J. Trump, and D.C. Water—the public utility overseeing the Potomac Interceptor pipe.WHEN & WHERE: Bowser’s request was ma…
DC Water Manager Admitted Deciding Agency Had Too Many Whites - DEI Fixed That But Also Covered DC in 240 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage
Good news, Washington, D.C. Sure, you may have your river water more, um, feces-enriched than before thanks to the failure of the Potomac Interceptor rupture. Sure, the sewage pipe’s failure […] The post Watch: DC Water Manager Admitted Deciding Agency Had Too Many Whites - DEI Fixed That But Also Covered DC in 240 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage appeared first on The Western Journal.
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