Water Authority Admits Critical Mistake: River Has 100 Times More Poop Than They Thought
Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images
A major water provider in the Washington, D.C., area acknowledged on Feb. 9 that it made a significant error in reporting E. coli levels to customers following a large sewage spill into the Potomac River.
DC Water had initially announced that contamination levels were declining after the Jan. 19 rupture of the 72-inch Potomac Interceptor pipeline. However, the utility later disclosed that a human error led to inaccurate data being shared with the public. The corrected figures show E. coli levels were 100 times higher than originally reported.
According to the update, “The previous data indicated 2,420 MPN/100mL when the results were 242,000 MPN/100mL,” highlighting the scale of the discrepancy.
The elevated bacteria levels are linked to the massive sewage spill that sent millions of gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River. DC Water has emphasized that the incident does not affect the region’s drinking water supply, as the wastewater and drinking water systems operate separately.
The reporting error drew attention after NBC4 Washington reporter Mark Segraves shared the update on X, leading to public questions and criticism. DC Water responded, stating, “We identified a human error through internal review, corrected it immediately, and updated the information as soon as it was confirmed. Sampling and monitoring have continued.”
In a statement posted to its website, the utility acknowledged the mistake and said it has implemented additional quality control measures to prevent similar issues in the future. “We regret this mistake and have implemented additional quality control measures to ensure the accuracy of the data reported,” the statement read.
As of early Feb. 10, approximately 243 million gallons of wastewater had flowed into the historic river, according to 7News WJLA — an amount equal to roughly 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
DC Water said the cleanup and environmental recovery process could take several months.
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