As I write this piece, it’s been six weeks since the start of the Potomac Interceptor spill on January 19. Raw sewage is still flowing through the C&O Canal immediately opposite 83rd Place, the repair completion date is unknown, and the river is still closed per an advisory from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. In this article, I’d like to take you behind the scenes and explain how Minnie’s Island Community Conservancy (MICC) was engaged during this time. Minnie’s Island is located about one half-mile directly downstream of the point where the spill entered the Potomac and was directly in the path of the plume.
On January 25 (six days after the start of the spill), MICC sent a letter to DC Water asking the following questions. As of the date of this article, MICC has not received a response from DC Water, although we know the answers to most of the questions.
- What testing is being done to assess the environmental damage relative to baseline conditions?
- Who is performing that monitoring and when did it start?
- What monitoring will be done to assess the medium and long-term impact of the spill?
- How will the public be informed of ongoing testing, monitoring and remediation efforts and results?
- What total volume of wastewater has been discharged into the Potomac?
- Will clean up and habitat restoration be conducted? If so, by whom?
- What actions are planned to prevent future sewage spills?
- How long before safe access to Minnie’s Island is restored?
Over time, we became concerned that impacts to Minnie’s and neighboring areas were not being assessed by DC Water, as their testing was limited to the site of the spill at Lock 10 and Fletcher’s Cove, located about seven miles downstream. On February 7, we sent a second request to DC Water, this time in collaboration with Sycamore Island. We requested that DC Water add additional testing locations:
- The Minnie’s Island canoe landing beside the C&O Canal and the well on the island.
- Sycamore Island, at the ferry dock, at the swim dock, and the shallow well water.
- The feeder canal near Lock 6 that is configured as a whitewater kayak slalom course.
- Directly above or below Little Falls.
It took DC Water until February 18 to begin daily testing in the vicinity of Minnie’s Island. On February 24, we collaborated with Canoe Cruisers Association again to reiterate our request for testing at the sites noted above, plus regular testing for staph and MRSA, including sediment testing.
The good news is that test results at Minnie’s Island show E. coli levels below the EPA standard starting on February 22. Questions remain however. What about the MRSA and staph bacteria reported by the University of Maryland? What about the safety of the sediment? Will there be impacts this summer in the more flat water locations (like around Sycamore Island) where sediment likely settled out? We hope public health officials can answer these questions for all of us.
Moving forward, MICC is advocating for a data-driven, science-based decision to either open the river to recreational use or to keep it closed. In the meantime, MICC will not host public events or volunteer workdays on the island, and we discourage public access until Montgomery County issues an advisory that says the river is safe. I know we are all looking forward to a warm day this spring when we can safely walk along the river (or on an island) and wonder at our wonderful bluebells.
By Joe Saliunas, certified Maryland Master Naturalist, Board Chair of Minnie’s Island Community Conservancy
Contributing Writer