The latest updates from the Potomac Interceptor Sewage Spill
/What you need to know about this massive pollution incident and how you can help us demand accountability and action
Photo credit: burr gray
On January 19, 2026, a large DC Water sewer pipe burst near the C&O Canal in Cabin John, Maryland. The infrastructure failure has contaminated the Potomac River as raw sewage continues to flow into its waters.
We can't overstate how upsetting and frustrating this ecological disaster is for our community. We fish, bike, and paddle along the river. We rely on the Potomac for the water our families drink. This infrastructure failure is beyond acceptable.
This is our water.
Potomac Conservancy President Hedrick Belin has been in close contact with impacted community members and leaders, and visited the site shortly after the incident occurred.
Here are the latest facts:
🔵 On Jan 19, 2026, the DC Water Potomac Interceptor pipe burst near the Clara Barton Parkway and Lock 10 of the C&O Canal in MD. This pipe has been under rehabilitation work since September 2025.
🔵 An estimated 300 million gallons of raw sewage have entered the Potomac River, more volume than the Tidal Basin could hold.
🔵 On Friday, January 23, DC Water began installing pumps to divert sewage around the rupture and allow crews to make repairs.
🔵 Yesterday, January 29, DC Water engineers reported no sewer overflows at the site for the first time since the pipe collapsed.
🔵 Initial results from Potomac Riverkeeper Network and University of Maryland researchers found that E. coli levels were 10,000 times over the recreational water quality limit.
🔵 To minimize risks, Montgomery County health and environmental authorities warn against touching the water or shorelines in the impacted areas.
Readers are encouraged to visit DC Water’s news page for the latest information.
Help us demand accountability!
Add your name to our letter to DC Water
Our 2025 Potomac Report Card findings warned that our river's overall health has stalled at a "B" over the last decade and remains too polluted for safe swimming and fish consumption for many. With this latest incident, the Potomac's recovery has taken a step back, not forward. We must correct course.
We value DC Water's Clean Rivers Project and their achievements in drastically reducing sewage overflows. Potomac Conservancy is now calling on them to meet the highest standards for mitigation, restoration, and future prevention.
What we're calling on DC Water to do:
Immediate and Short-Term Actions:
Provide transparent, ongoing updates regarding the volume of sewage released, the duration of the spill, and the effectiveness of the containment measures.
Investigation and Accountability:
Identify other known or potential weak points within the system and provide a clear, swift timeline and plan for addressing them.
Restoration, Mitigation, and Long-Term Prevention:
Commit to comprehensive environmental mitigation and restoration efforts to address ecological harm to the C&O Canal and Potomac River, both in the immediate aftermath and over the long term.
View our full letter with more actions and add your name!
Together, we’ll work with you and the community to restore one of our region’s most important waterways, the Potomac River.
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What you need to know about the January 2026 Potomac Interceptor sewage spill and how you can demand accountability and action.