DC to Lift Potomac River Safety Warning After Sewage Spill

Daily water testing to begin as repairs continue upstream in Maryland

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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The District of Columbia is preparing to lift its public safety advisory for the Potomac and Anacostia rivers after a sewage spill, as crews in Maryland make progress repairing the underground pipe responsible. D.C. will begin daily water testing on Monday, with help from the EPA, to monitor E. coli and bacteria levels, which have been steadily declining over the past three weeks.

Why it matters

The sewage spill prompted public safety warnings in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., restricting recreational activities on the rivers. As the repairs continue upstream, D.C. officials are confident the river has returned to normal conditions, allowing them to lift the advisory and welcome people back to the waterways.

The details

Maryland crews are making steady progress repairing the underground pipe that caused the sewage spill, which released over 240 million gallons of sewage into the Potomac River. In D.C., the Bowser administration will begin daily water testing along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers on Monday, with assistance from the EPA's lab and staff. The testing is expected to continue for 6-8 weeks, giving officials a clearer picture of the river's condition.

  • The sewage spill occurred in late February 2026.
  • Daily water testing in D.C. will begin on Monday, February 28, 2026.
  • D.C. plans to lift its public safety advisory in the next 3 weeks.

The players

Muriel Bowser

The mayor of Washington, D.C.

Ayanna Bennett

Director of the D.C. Department of Health

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The federal agency that will provide lab space and staff to assist with water testing in D.C.

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What they’re saying

“We really want to take advantage of that resource to have as good an eye on the state of the river at any given point that we can.”

— Ayanna Bennett, Director of the D.C. Department of Health (nbcwashington.com)

“For the D.C. waters — and I am speaking about them specifically because there are different conditions in different parts of the river — but where we are several miles downstream of the spill, people can have confidence that it's the usual river.”

— Ayanna Bennett, Director of the D.C. Department of Health (nbcwashington.com)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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