The Virginia Department of Health is advising people to avoid contact with the Potomac River following a massive sewage pipe rupture last month.
Recreational activities like swimming and kayaking should be avoided out of caution to prevent illness, VDH said in a release yesterday.
Millions of gallons of raw sewage have spilled into the river since the Jan. 19 spill, which happened upstream from Alexandria along Clara Barton Parkway. A subsequent sewage discharge was reported on Feb. 7, and repairs are expected to take four to six weeks.
Since the spill, researchers at the University of Maryland have reported high levels of disease-causing bacteria in the river. On Jan. 21, water samples at the spill site reported E. coli levels more than 10,000 times above the Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards.
The Alexandria Health Department has shared VDH’s advisory and is “also working with the City of Alexandria to post signs around Alexandria’s water access points as soon as possible.”
VDH has observed “no evidence of impacts to drinking water at this time.”
“The City of Alexandria receives all its drinking water from Fairfax Water,” VDH’s Office of Drinking Water told ALXnow. “Fairfax Water has two primary water sources, the Occoquan Reservoir and the Potomac River. Fairfax Water’s Potomac River intake is located several miles upstream of where the sewage spill enters the Potomac and is therefore not impacted.”
VDH’s press release is available below.
Due to reports of sewage spills in the Potomac River and the anticipated timeline for repairs, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is issuing a recreational water advisory for Virginia residents. For the safety of people and pets, VDH is advising Virginia residents to avoid recreational water activities in the Potomac River, such as swimming, wading, tubing, white-water canoeing or kayaking, where full-body submersion is more likely to occur.
The advisory is being issued out of an abundance of caution due to a sewage spill in the Potomac River that occurred January 19, and subsequent reports of a sewage discharge February 7. The timeline for the repair is estimated to be four to six weeks. The advisory area extends for 72.5 miles from the American Legion Memorial Bridge (I-495) in Fairfax County to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (Route 301) in King George County.
VDH has observed no evidence of impacts to drinking water at this time.
For updates on the repair status, visit DC Water. For updates on Virginia impacts and to find links to the Maryland and DC agencies responding to this incident, please visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/news/potomac-sewage-spill/.
- To prevent recreational water illnesses due to exposure to sewage spill events, people should:
- Avoid contact with water in the advisory area and observe advisory signage posted at waterbody access points.
- Avoid any area of the water body where water has a foul odor, dead or dying fish, or discolored water.
- Promptly wash skin with soap and water if you cannot avoid contact with water in the vicinity.
- Rinse or wash items that come into contact with the water, including clothing, fishing gear, life vests, ropes and paddles.
- Seek medical care and notify your practitioner of the waterbody exposure if you experience adverse health effects after contact with the waterbody.
- When harvesting fish or crabs, discard skin, organs, cook the meat to proper temperature, and clean cutting boards and cutting implements with warm soapy water.
