Riverkeeper warns of high E. coli in creek that flows into Potomac River

While raw sewage and wastewater continue to be diverted through the C&O Canal since the January sewage spill, tests show dangerously high levels of E. coli in a nearby creek that feeds into the Potomac River, according to the riverkeeper.

After the Potomac interceptor pipe broke Jan. 19, more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River. About 40 million gallons per day continue to be diverted, an engineering feat that has prevented any significant sewage overflow from going into the Potomac.

As crews continue making progress repairing the broken sewage pipe, Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks fears another problem developing. Inside an old stone culvert that runs directly beneath the C&O Canal, fluid drips into a creek that flows directly into the river.

A report the News4 I-Team obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shows a recent Maryland Department of Environment inspection found that while DC Water crews installed plastic along the walls of the historic canal locks, no lining was placed on the canal’s natural clay floor before flooding it with millions of gallons of sewage.

“We’re seeing really high levels of E. coli, which means that all the sewage that’s above this in the Lock 11 C&O Canal is leaking through, we believe, through the canal roof and potentially up through the floor via groundwater, and this is a major source of contamination,” Naujoks said.

Potomac Riverkeeper staff have been testing the water in and around the culvert and have found dangerously high E. coli rates – more than 100 times the safe limit.

“This is not a lot of volume of sewage, but it’s an ongoing source of sewage that DC Water continues to claim is not entering the Potomac River, but the data continuously shows that there is sewage in E. coli entered in the Potomac River,” Naujoks said.

Remediation will call for complete removal of all contamination in the area. Naujoks thinks that should be postponed until the pipe is repaired and no more sewage flows through the canal.

“If there’s ongoing releases of sewage and E. coli and fecal bacteria, it’s gonna recontaminate this site, the remediation site, that’s probably spending millions of dollars to clean up, and still continue to discharge sewage in the river,” the riverkeeper said.

Restrictions remain in place along the river in Montgomery County to avoid any contact with the water or the river’s edge.

A DC Water spokesperson told News4 the Washington Aqueduct and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working on a plan to address the culvert. The Corps said it’s installing a containment system within the culvert and plans to clean the inside of the structure by hand and pump water back into the canal to avoid contaminating the river.