Up the Potomac river, Maryland crews are making steady progress repairing the underground pipe responsible for the sewage spill.
Meanwhile, further downstream in D.C., the Bowser administration is preparing to begin daily water testing along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. Testing will begin on Monday.
“We are planning for six to eight weeks after that starts. And that will give us a more concrete and substantial view of our own area. So that is what we’re looking to have,” Dr. Ayanna Bennett, Director of the D.C. Department of Health said.
Bennett added that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will allow the D.C. Department of Health to use their lab. On top of the extra workspace, she says some EPA staff will help test the water.
“We really want to take advantage of that resource to have as good an eye on the state of the river at any given point that we can,” Bennett said.
The decision comes after over 240 million gallons of sewage spewed into the Potomac, releasing dangerous levels of E. Coli and other bacteria into the water.
The spill prompted public safety advisory warnings in Maryland, Virginia and the District respectively.
But come Monday, Bennett says, D.C. plans to lift their advisory — welcoming people and pets back to the river for recreational activities.
“For the D.C. waters — and I am speaking about them specifically because there are different conditions in different parts of the river — but where we are several miles downstream of the spill, people can have confidence that it’s the usual river,” Bennett said.
“So whatever you were used to doing on the river, boating or coroutines, all of those things can proceed,” she said.
The most recent testing data shows safer levels of E. Coli in District waters.
“We’ve been seeing a steady decline and a return to, kind of our normal waters for really the last three weeks,” Bennett said.
Bennett does not expect the sewage spill to have an impact on the upcoming cherry blossom season or the Tidal Basin.
“By the time cherry blossom season starts, we will have had two months of the river flowing past this site. It is a river. It’s a dynamic system that replaces itself continuously,” Bennett said.
“Three weeks from now, we’re getting further and further away from the original insult to the river and that we’re returning to normal conditions,” she said.
Despite D.C. lifting their advisory, Maryland and Virginia advisories will remain in effect.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/JRi5Up3
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