‘Deeply troubling’: DC Water faces questions about sewage spill messaging

The section of the 54-mile sewage line that collapsed and sent more than 243 million gallons of sewage into the Potomac River and continues to divert as much as 60 million gallons a day through the C&O Canal was rated in poor condition in need of repair twice over the last five years, according to DC Water officials

DC Water General Manager David Gadis testified Monday that two additional sections of that sewer line in the same area as the sewage spill were also rated in poor condition.

“What I said today was that in the report thus far, we found two sections of the pipe that we needed to keep an eye on, that we need to really take a look at,” he said.

In a previous press briefing, Gadis had revealed the existence of a 2024 report and pledged to make it public. But so far, he has not. That has fueled complaints from environmentalists that DC Water has not been transparent.

“The public deserves answers to some basic questions. What did DC Water know about the condition of this section of the pipe? When did it know it?” said Hedrick Belin with the Potomac Conservancy. “There is a 2024 report on the Potomac Interceptor that was referenced at a Feb. 20 press conference, yet key details still remain undisclosed. This lack of transparency is deeply troubling.”

“Who is gonna hold DC Water accountable?” said D.C. Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks. “I could speak another five minutes of the response of getting misinformation wrong, saying that the spill’s been contained, misreporting data information.”

Gadis addressed those complaints after the hearing.

“Well, I would first say that we apologize if that is the case and if that’s how individuals feel. That is not who DC Water is. We are a very transparent organization,” he said. “We would feel we are happy to sit down and speak with anyone about this project or any other projects that we have.
So we apologize if that is the case. It’s not what we meant to do. What we want to do is make sure that we had the correct answers and the correct things in place in order for us to answer individuals, but we apologize if that is the case.”

Gadis also clarified who will have to pay the estimated $20 million price tag for repair and clean up, telling D.C. councilmembers that the District, Maryland and Virginia will have to pay the vast majority of the costs and D.C. residents and businesses will not have to pay anything.