As Potomac River Advisories Lift, Public Concerns Remain After Sewage Spill

Virginians can once again fish and swim in portions of the Potomac River that were affected when a sewage pipe collapsed in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Jan 19 and spilled more than 200 million gallons of wastewater into the river. But while state health officials say residents can resume recreational activities, others are concerned that contaminants remain in the water.

“We are aware that, although now the scientific data show that E.coli contamination is diminishing at and near the site, it is still high elsewhere and thus residents should examine the public data to determine when and where contact is safe,” Betsy Nicholas, president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, said in a March 4 statement. “We wish that DC authorities would conduct testing at more sites further down the river as a means to restore the lost trust.”

Workers climb down into the collapsed section of the Potomac Interceptor, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Workers must remove a large quantity of boulders and smaller rocks from the site in order to place a new pipe and restore its flow to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters)

The pipe repairs are being handled by DC Water. The broken pipe will take months to replace, but in the meantime, the sewage is being diverted into a canal to prevent being spilled into the river.

On Thursday, the Virginia Department of Health lifted the recreational water advisory from Route 120 Chain Bridge to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County. The advisory remains in place upstream, from the American Legion Memorial Bridge to the Route 120 Chain Bridge. The advisory was issued on Feb. 13 as a cautionary measure after the spill to prevent any potential negative health risks by touching the water or consuming fish caught in the advisory areas.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality collected water samples on Feb. 17, 25, 26, and 27 that showed bacteria levels are safe for swimming and fishing again, except for the 4.7-mile stretch still in the advisory. Drinking water and seafood harvests were not impacted by the spill.

On Tuesday, DC Water lifted their advisory for the portion of the river near the district. In her statement, Nicholas said the health departments need to regain the trust of the public and that Riverkeeper’s testing finds that even though the bacteria rates are improving upstream, there are still worries about further downstream.

Virginia health officials have emphasized that the shellfish growing areas were not impacted by the spill. The Maryland Health Department did issue a shellfish closure from the spill site to the Harry W. Nice Bridge. That area is expected to reopen on March 10.

Dean Naujoks, with the Potomac Riverkeepers, said that even as the advisories are lifting, there is a public perception that the river is not safe to use. His team is urging DC and Maryland health officials, since Maryland owns the river and D.C. is responsible for the busted pipe, to have regular testing in the summer months when activity on the Potomac typically ramps up.

“I think a bigger problem than the E. coli data itself is the only way to change that (public) perception is you just have to continue data (collection) and show constant on-going improvement,” Naujoks said.

In Fredericksburg, Anthony Cubbage runs Atomic Fishing Charters. He said the spill advisories didn’t have much of an impact on the waters in his area, but public concern was such that he still lost $5,000 worth of business in February. He acknowledges that’s a slow month typically, but said business was down due to people not wanting to fish on the Potomac, where he does about 90% of his business. With the weather warming up, he said his “phone is blowing up” for people wanting to book a charter, but most want to go to the Rappahannock River or Lake Anna instead.

“It’s a tragedy and never should have happened,” Cubbage said.

The D.C. Department of Environment and Energy is still maintaining testing and is aggregating the Potomac Riverkeeper’s Network, DC Water, and the Maryland Department of the Environment data onto one website. 

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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