The stretch of the Potomac River within the District of Columbia will be safe for activities by next Monday, city health officials said.
The river was inundated with over 200 million gallons of wastewater after a section of pipe 6 feet in diameter collapsed near the Clara Barton Parkway on Jan. 19, according to the DC Water website.
This led to a spike of E. coli bacteria in the river that made boating and other activities unsafe.
As for drinking water, it was unaffected by the pipeline breach, DC Water said, because the Washington Aqueduct draws water upstream from where the sewage spill occurred.
Since the collapse, officials have been conducting daily tests of the E. coli levels in the river at various points along its span, including within the District.
At a meeting Wednesday, DC Health Director Ayanna Bennett said that “in the D.C. waters, we consider it safe for you to have contact with the Potomac, and that advisory will be announced as lifted on March 2.”
DC Water repair crews have been working to get the breach repaired and the Potomac Interceptor back up and running. There has not been any new leakage of sewage into the river since Feb. 8, DC Water said.
On Wednesday, the regional water utility said it would finish removing debris and rocks that were damming the damaged part of the sewage pipeline overnight into Thursday. With the debris clear, workers will be able to pressure-wash the pipe and ensure no more debris is inside.
Once they’re sure the pipe is clear, crews will spray a material called geopolymer, about as strong as concrete, to fix the breach. DC Water said the repair work is on track to finish by the middle of March.
