Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) declared a public emergency and requested support from the federal government regarding the ongoing Potomac River sewage crisis.
In a press release from the Executive Office of the Mayor, it was revealed that Bowser “declared a local public emergency” in order to request “federal support through a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration requestion.”
Bowser is also “seeking 100% 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 Truth Social post from February 16 directed “Federal Authorities to immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac.”
Trump also blamed the “Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders,” such as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) for the “massive Ecological Disaster” in the Potomac River.
In a press release from February 6, D.C. Water explained that, as a result of part of the Potomac Interceptor collapsing on January 19, it was estimated “that approximately 243 million gallons of wastewater has overflowed from the collapse site.”
“The vast majority of this volume, approximately 194 million gallons, occurred within the first five days, prior to the overflows being significantly reduced through bypass pumping operations,” D.C. Water explained.
As a result of the spillage, researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) “detected high levels of fecal-related bacteria and disease-causing pathogens” in the river, according to the website for School of Public Health at UMD.
Per the website, “Water sample results collected at the site by researchers show high levels of E. coli:”
Water sample results collected at the site by researchers show high levels of E. coli are present along with Staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes Staph infections). An antibiotic-resistant strain of S. aureus, MRSA, was also identified at the site of the sewage overflow.
In another Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump stated that the leaders of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. needed to “get to work, IMMEDIATELY.”
“If they can’t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed,” Trump added. “The Federal Government is not at all involve[d] with what has taken place, but we can fix it.”
