D.C. Mayor Requests Federal Support in Potomac Sewage Crisis
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) declared a state of public emergency and requested federal support regarding the ongoing Potomac River sewage crisis.
In a press release from the Mayor’s Executive Office, it was revealed that Bowser “declared a local public state of emergency” in order to request “federal support through a Presidential Disaster Emergency Declaration Request.”
Bowser is also “requesting 100 percent reimbursement for costs incurred by the District and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water),” according to the press release.
Bowser’s request and declaration of a public emergency comes as President Donald Trump, in a February 16 Truth Social article, ordered “federal authorities to immediately provide all management, direction and coordination necessary to protect the Potomac.”
Trump also blamed “gross mismanagement by local Democratic leaders,” such as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D-), for the Potomac River’s “massive ecological disaster.”
In a February 6 press release, DC Water explained that following the collapse of part of the Potomac Interceptor on January 19, it was estimated “that approximately 243 million gallons of sewage overflowed from the collapse site.”
“The vast majority of this volume, approximately 194 million gallons, occurred in the first five days, before overflows were significantly reduced through diversion pumping operations,” DC Water explained.
Following the spill, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) “detected elevated levels of fecal-derived bacteria and disease-causing pathogens” in the river, according to the UMD School of Public Health website.
According to the website, “results from water samples collected at the site by researchers show high levels of E.coli:»
Results of water samples taken from the site by researchers show high levels of E.coli are present with Staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes Staph infections). A strain of S. aureusMRSA, was also identified at the sewage overflow site.
In another Truth Social article published Tuesday, Trump said leaders in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. need to “get to work IMMEDIATELY.”
“If they can’t do the job, they should call me and politely ask me to get it fixed,” Trump added. “The federal government is not involved at all[d] with what happened, but we can do something about it.
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