The Patriot Post® · A Putrid Potomac Problem

On January 19, in Maryland’s Montgomery County, a 72-inch sewer pipe known as an interceptor failed, at which point thousands upon thousands of gallons of raw sewage began pouring into the Potomac River. We’ve heard of Potomac Fever, but this is ridiculous.

When the pipe failed, it took the DC Water and Sewer Authority — the company responsible for maintaining these pipes — five days to properly divert the contaminated water. It has now been a month, and while sewage isn’t leaking continuously into the river anymore, it still does at times.

Government health officials and newsrooms have assured residents that E. coli is below dangerous levels, but just to be safe, don’t touch the water or allow your pets to ingest or go in it. However, Washington, DC, has failed to issue warnings about the dangerous levels of bacteria that are present. People are still fishing, and a polar plunge is even planned downstream of the spill.

According to Potomac Riverkeepers Network, this failure to notify the public is a dereliction of duty. PRKN President Betsy Nicholas stated this in a warning:

Raw sewage from a 60-year-old pipe has vomited roughly 300 million gallons [emphasis added] into the Potomac River and is still not fully contained. Water testing collected nine days after the start of the disaster by PRKN and University of Maryland scientists still shows fecal bacteria levels more than 2,700 times the safe limit established by Maryland and Virginia. We are long past the time for DC authorities to issue a public health warning for recreational use. People want to know if the river is safe. Right now, the Potomac River is not safe!

This is a massive ecological disaster, and the logical question is, who’s to blame?

Is it DC Water and its CEO, David L. Gadis? Well, considering this leak happened with its pipelines and under his watch, the buck, of course, stops with them. The issue that complicates this, however, is that Gadis, along with his former employer, Veolia North America, was named in a lawsuit for withholding information on the infamous water contamination imbroglio in Flint, Michigan. That scandal should have been enough to keep Gadis out of similar positions. However, he is black and a big proponent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

According to The Daily Caller:

Before Gadis arrived, DC Water was considered a global role model, commanding one of the highest reputations in the water sector, according to World’s Leaders. Gadis sought to take the authority to “the next level” by prioritizing equity for employees, customers, communities, and contractors — an effort CIO Views recognized when it named him one of the 10 Most Influential Black Corporate Leaders of 2022.

So instead of fixing pipes and maintaining a superior water and sewer authority, Gadis focused on water equity. The company was slow to divert the gushing sewage and also initially misreported the levels of E. coli present in the Potomac. Multiply the initially reported number by 100, and that would be the real amount present.

Is it the fault of Maryland Democrat Governor Wes Moore? He certainly doesn’t think so. When called out by President Donald Trump for failing to take care of his state, Moore spokesperson Ammar Moussa responded:

The President has his facts wrong — again. Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak. For the last four weeks, the Trump Administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk. Notably, the president’s own [Environmental Protection Agency] explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday. Apparently, the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here.

Is it President Trump’s fault? The Potomac interceptor is the responsibility of DC Water, and the company was supposed to address known deterioration back in 2022. DC Water is overseen by the EPA, so, technically, this is also a federal failure. Trump lays the blame at the feet of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia’s Democrat leadership. He’s not wrong. The possibility of the pipe failing has been known since the Biden administration.

As it is, Trump has offered up FEMA to help with the cleanup.

The finger-wagging and blame-shifting are all the usual song and dance after a disaster. But what’s particularly interesting is who is silent about the scope and scale of this poopy disaster. The environmentalists are nowhere to be seen or heard. They are too upset about the Trump administration’s rollback of climate regulations on CO₂ and other greenhouse gases.

As political commentator Bethany Mandel put it in a Fox News op-ed, “The juxtaposition is revealing. A historic sewage spill into a major American river — an event with clear, measurable consequences for ecosystems and public health — has barely registered in the national discourse. Meanwhile, a regulatory shift whose effects will unfold gradually and remain contested has been treated as an existential emergency.”

The theoretical emissions bogeyman is more rage-inducing than an actual polluting sewage dump with measurable environmental and public safety consequences. For example, the fecal matter has hardened and sunk to the riverbed. Some of the sewage is frozen in the ice that is slowly melting with the onset of warmer temperatures. The riverbank mud is contaminated. The repair and cleanup are going to take months, and the bacteria risk could last years.

The legacy media is staying mostly silent about the spill unless it is to back up Governor Moore’s claim that the disaster is President Trump’s fault. The swamp is getting swampier, and the hypocrites are silent.