DC Water completes Potomac River sewage spill repairs after Trump aid

Repairs were completed following the historic Potomac River sewage spill in Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist.

“Emergency repairs to the Potomac Interceptor have been completed,” DC Water said in a statement Saturday. he said. “As part of the site restoration, full flow was restored and the C&O Canal was completely drained. Since January 19, crews have worked around the clock to stabilize the area and protect the Potomac River.”

The statement comes after a sewer pipe interrupter burst, releasing more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River on Jan. 19. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared an emergency over the Potomac sewage spill and requested federal assistance with cleanup.

According to a statement from the White House, Trump said he was concerned that the Potomac River would still smell bad when America250 celebrations begin this summer.

SEWER SPILL CAUSES E COLI TO BENEFIT IN THE POTOMAC RIVER NEAR DC

The president had directed his ire at Democratic Maryland Governor Wes Moore and other local leaders in Virginia and Washington, D.C., claiming that incompetence caused the disaster.

But Moore and his office pushed back on Trump’s claims, claiming the federal government oversees the sewer service.

“This is a Washington D.C. pipe on federal land,” Moore told Fox News Digital last month. “Maryland had nothing to do with it. In fact, the only thing Maryland did was when we saw a neighbor in need. So I ordered the people, our people, to support them, and that’s what we were doing last month.”

Raw sewage flows into an interceptor along the Potomac River in Cabin John, Maryland, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

“We’re essentially doing the federal government’s job because it’s the federal government’s job to maintain the Potomac interconnector because it’s a federal district,” Moore said. “I find it ridiculous… that the president would come and attack me about this.”

Sewer pipes are managed by DC Water, an independent utility located in the District of Columbia.

A class action lawsuit was filed A March 6 lawsuit filed by a Virginia resident accusing DC Water of negligence.

Noel Boxer, FEMA’s external affairs officer, inspects the flow of raw sewage after a gate was removed to restart the flow along the Potomac River on Saturday. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

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Plaintiff Nicholas Lailas, a recreational boater, seeks damages for individuals whose “property interests and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River…were injured by Defendant’s conduct,” the lawsuit said.

He is seeking unspecified damages.

Stephen Sorace and Jasmine Baehr of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.