Massive sewer spill flowing into Potomac River upstream from Washington
Jan 23, 2026, 9:06 AM | Updated: 10:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington D.C., polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling.
DC Water, which operates the sewer system, is hooking up pumps to divert sewage around the rupture and allow crews to make repairs. The rupture happened late Monday and they are cautioning people to stay out of the area.
The spill was caused by a 72-inch (183 centimeters) sewer pipe that collapsed, shooting sewage up out of the ground and flowing into the river. The sewer system is capable of handling 60 million gallons (230 million liters) of water each day, enough to fill about 90 Olympic-size swimming pools.
“Oh my god, the smell is horrific,” said Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and part of an environmental nonprofit. “It’s such high concentrations of sewage that just grabbing a sample is a public health risk.”
DC Water cautioned people to wash their skin if it was exposed.
The spill occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, along Clara Barton Parkway, which hugs the northern edge of the Potomac River near the C & O Canal National Historic Park.
Crews are removing lock gates on the C & O Canal. Pumps will be installed upstream to move sewage into the canal and then rerouted downstream of the rupture back into the sewer system, according to DC Water.
The spill does not impact drinking water, which is a separate system, DC Water said. Crews are expected to work through the weekend even with the forecast of bad winter storms.
Naujoks said the spill is happening at time when the river is low. He went out to look at it Wednesday and was “kind of stunned.”
“Sewage is just bubbling up like a small geyser, maybe two, three feet into the air,” he said. “Sewage water is running in every direction.”
The District of Columbia Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including whether they are testing the river’s water.
Nationally, hundreds of billions in infrastructure investment is needed over the next two decades for clean water problems like aging sewer pipes. In other places where sewer breaks are persistent, it can lead to backups into homes and regular flooding.
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