D.C. Water faces federal and Maryland lawsuit over Potomac spill

• Also stepping up pressure is Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who made similar claims against D.C. Water in a lawsuit filed Monday.
• D.C. Water said environmental review regulations had slowed their previous pipe rehab plans.

Zoom in: The federal lawsuit alleges that D.C. Water knew for at least eight years about "severe corrosion requiring immediate repair," the Washington Post reports.

• Pipeline inspections in 2024 found that not only had the pipe wall's thickness deteriorated, but the "inner cage of reinforcing steel was missing" and that "failure was imminent," the DOJ lawsuit alleges.
• The section of the pipe near Clara Barton Parkway collapsed on Jan. 19, dumping over 200 million gallons of raw wastewater into the Potomac. It was plugged roughly two months later.

The other side: "Since 2018, D.C. Water has worked with NPS on site assessments, environmental reviews and emergency repairs on portions of the pipeline to ensure environmental protection and public safety," the utility told the Post.

• "D.C. Water will renew its requests for streamlined environmental reviews to allow rehabilitation of the interceptor to move forward more quickly."

State of play: The Potomac Riverkeeper Network, which raised awareness about the spill's harmful effects, says recent E. coli testing has been trending in the right direction.

• But the group still wants ongoing testing throughout the summer to restore public confidence in the river.
• "We still have concerns long term about potential algae blooms and fish kills," Dean Naujoks of the Riverkeeper tells Axios.

What's next: The watchdog group is soon going out to test a popular point on the river for boats — the Three Sisters Islands.

• Naujoks says they're concerned about E. coli being deposited in trenches deep in the river. A recent sample of the surface water around the islands came back with high E. coli levels, an anomaly.