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A sewer pipe collapse sent an estimated 40 million gallons of wastewater per day into the Potomac River, but Fairfax Water says the spill has not affected drinking water quality or service for its customers.
The rupture occurred late Monday, Jan. 19, along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Sewage burst from a collapsed DC Water pipe and flowed into the river.
Fairfax Water draws its supply from the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir. Spokesperson Susan Miller said the damaged sewer line is downstream from the utility’s intake, keeping the spill from affecting Fairfax customers.
DC Water also said its drinking water remained unaffected because the rupture is downstream from the Washington Aqueduct intakes at Great Falls.
Warning signs near the spill site read “Danger” and “Raw Sewage,” advising people to avoid the area and wash their skin following any exposure.
DC Water began installing pumps to carry wastewater around the damaged section so crews could excavate and repair the pipe. A bypass system was activated Saturday, Jan. 24, before a winter storm, although work continued to completely stop the discharge into the river.
The failed pipe belongs to the Potomac Interceptor, which transports as much as 60 million gallons of wastewater per day from parts of Virginia and Maryland to the Blue Plains treatment plant. Wastewater from Fairfax, Loudoun and Montgomery counties moves through the pipeline.
DC Water was aware that the interceptor was deteriorating. Rehabilitation of a section roughly a quarter-mile from the rupture began in September and was recently completed. Work on other high-priority sections is expected to begin later in 2026.
Gary Belan, a senior director with American Rivers, said wastewater systems are struggling to catch up with deferred maintenance and warned that major spills will continue as aging pipes fail.
Hundreds of billions of dollars in clean-water infrastructure investment will be needed nationwide over the next two decades. In communities with recurring sewer failures, broken pipes can also cause wastewater backups in homes and repeated flooding.