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DC Water reported that containment efforts for a significant sewage spill into the Potomac River are nearing completion. The spill, caused by the January 19 collapse of a six-foot-diameter sewage pipe, released an estimated 40 million gallons of untreated wastewater daily into the river and a nearby tributary.

Crews have installed six bypass pumps along the 54-mile Potomac Interceptor line to reroute wastewater to a dry section of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Each pump can move seven million gallons per day.

The affected pipe section is part of a nearly $10 million rehabilitation project, part of a larger $625 million upgrade funded by the District of Columbia. Testing revealed E. coli levels near the spill were over 12,000 times higher than safe limits for human contact. DC Water confirmed drinking water remains unaffected, as intake points were closed and water is sourced from upstream areas.