Over a month since the start of a massive sewage spill into the Potomac River, D.C. announced Friday it will start testing the city’s two main rivers for bacteria more frequently.
The sewage spill was caused by the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewage line in Montgomery County last month.
D.C. Water, which operates the broken pipe, has been doing daily testing of the Potomac River for bacteria since January.
This month, the District’s Department of Energy and Environment has been conducting weekly tests for E. coli at five sites. Three are on the Potomac, two are on the Anacostia and one is along the Washington Channel.
“We expect to go to daily testing starting on Monday,” said Clint Osborn, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
It’s the result of a partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency to expedite processing samples.
“The EPA has some laboratory capability that they’re providing as part of this process, and the Department of Energy and Environment is going to handle a lot of the sampling on the front end,” Osborn said. “It’s really a joint effort. We’re absorbing our costs and they’re absorbing their costs.”
Within 48 hours after each sample is taken, the test results will be posted on the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment website.
“We’re planning to do this through at least the early part of the summer, but we’re going to be really sensitive to the river levels and the activity and everything else that’s going on this summer. And we’ll evaluate as we go,” Osborn said.
Recent tests show E. coli levels are back down to what the city typically sees, and an advisory from D.C. Health warning people to avoid contact with the water in the Potomac River is expected to be lifted Monday.
So why is this change being made now?
“We just feel like it’s a really prudent move to move our testing up, make it more regular, and give the community more information,” Osborn said.
Officials continue to assure the public that the spill has not affected the quality of drinking water in D.C.
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