Congress Grills Officials About the Potomac River Sewage Spill
Key takeaways
- John Joyce (R-Pa.) questioned DC Water CEO David Gadis at the Wednesday hearing about the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line.
- According to the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, the incident was “one of the largest sewage spills in U.S.
- “We’re hopeful that we do not have another break like this one,” Gadis said. “But there are no guarantees when dealing with aging infrastructure that’s more than 60 years old.”
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
May 21, 2026 Share This Article Republish Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.) questioned DC Water CEO David Gadis at the Wednesday hearing about the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line. Credit: House Committee on Energy and Commerce Related The Big Bet to Fix the Rio Grande Sewage Problem Why Billions of Gallons of Raw Sewage Keep Ending up in Philadelphia Waterways Flooding Caused by Atmospheric River Over Maryland Shows How Climate Change Is Stressing Inland Communities Share This Article Republish Most Popular What to Expect as El Niño Approaches Wildfire Crews Race to Keep Fierce California Blaze From Former Nuclear Reactor Site As El Niño Approaches, Scientists Predict Fierce Heatwaves, Wildfires and Floods Members of a congressional subcommittee this week questioned utility leaders and state officials about their knowledge of preexisting problems with the sewage line that collapsed on Jan. 19 near the Potomac River.
According to the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, the incident was “one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history.” More than 242 million gallons of untreated wastewater spilled into the Potomac River after a section of the 72-inch-diameter Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed.
Answering questions from Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), the head of the utility that oversees the Potomac Interceptor said at the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing Wednesday that the sewage pipe was debilitated by “boulders that fell into the pipe.” David Gadis, chief executive officer of DC Water, added that he was not aware of the dangerous potential they posed to this part of the pipeline but knew about the existence of boulders around the pipes since 2018.