The failure in a section of a 72-inch sewer pipe in MD, has release of close to a billion gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac river just inside the Beltway
It’s now considered the LARGEST spill of wastewater in U.S. history
MD & VA Dems haven’t said a word. https://t.co/2WKcgDMUWi pic.twitter.com/xZME5lBira
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) February 12, 2026
A major section of the Potomac Interceptor, a 72‑inch sewer pipe, collapsed on January 19, causing hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage to spill into:
- the C&O Canal
- the Potomac River
- areas just inside the Capital Beltway in Montgomery County, Maryland
DC Water has confirmed this is the largest wastewater spill in U.S. history.
https://wtop.com/dc/2026/02/dc-water-ceo-addresses-community-in-wake-of-massive-sewage-spill-3/
Raw sewage from a 60-year-old pipe has dumped roughly 300 million gallons of waste into the Potomac River in what is possibly the largest sewage overflow in U.S. history, according to environmental advocates and regional officials.
DC Water said last week that a section of its sewer system known as the Potomac Interceptor collapsed along the Clara Barton Parkway on Jan. 19, triggering a massive discharge of untreated wastewater into the river.
In a press release, the utility estimated that approximately 243 million gallons of wastewater had overflowed from the collapse site. On Monday, DC Water said there had been an additional “significant overflow” on Sunday during a period of high river flow, noting that some bypass pumps were not in service at the time.