Virginia boater sues DC Water over Potomac River sewage spill
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A Virginia boater is suing a Washington, D.C. water utility for the massive Potomac River sewage spill as concerns over pollution and public safety continue.
On Friday, March 6, a Virginia recreational boater, Nicholas Lailas, filed a class-action lawsuit against DC Water in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., after a major sewage pipe collapse dumped over 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.
In the suit, Lailas alleges negligence in the maintenance of the Potomac Interceptor pipe, including failure to maintain aging infrastructure and to prevent the catastrophic collapse of the pipe, which occurred in late January, prompting health advisories warning residents to avoid contact with contaminated water.
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The suit seeks compensation for recreational boaters, property owners and businesses affected by the massive sewage spill.
The lawsuit said that data shows that there are thousands who own property or vessels in the affected parts of the river, including Lailas. The spill has allegedly "impair[ed] his use and enjoyment of the vessel and the surrounding waterway for navigation, recreation, and daily living," the suit states.
"Dr. Lailas has incurred specific out-of-pocket costs for vessel cleaning and decontamination, has been deprived of use of his vessel, and has suffered physical contamination of his property," the lawsuit states.
The suit went on to state that Lailas has "suffered, and continues to suffer."
The Potomac River forms much of Virginia's northern border and is used for boating, fishing and other outdoor activities.
The lawsuit alleges that it was DC Water's responsibility as the owner and operator of the ruptured pipe to maintain it in a "reasonably safe condition and to prevent foreseeable harm to persons and property.”
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Suit alleges DC Water did not adequately implement safeguards to protect river
Per the lawsuit, DC Water had "extensive, actual, and documented knowledge of the deteriorated condition of the Potomac Interceptor for over a decade prior" to the January collapse.
DC Water conducted a comprehensive inspection of the area between 2011 and 2015 and states that the inspection revealed that "the majority of the pipe segments show signs of corrosion, and some show settled deposits."
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The lawsuit states that DC Water did not conduct a "contemporaneous condition assessment of the pipe section immediately downstream," which is the section that collapsed on Jan. 19.
"Additional overflow events have occurred since that date [Jan. 19], and the total volume of discharge may continue to increase," the suit states. "As of the date of this filing, the [Potomac Interceptor] has not been fully repaired."
Testing reported concentrations surpassing 4 million MPN/100 mL -- levels that the Potomac Riverkeeper Network described as about 11,900 times the 410 MPN/100 mL primary-contact threshold used by Virginia and Maryland agencies, per the suit.
The suit emphasized DC Water's failure to implement any adequate safeguards.
"Despite over a decade of actual knowledge that the [Potomac Interceptor] was deteriorating, DC Water failed to implement reasonable interim measures to manage the risk of catastrophic failure while rehabilitation was pending," the suit reads.
What the suit calls a "reasonably prudent utility operator" would have implemented enhanced monitoring, flow management, emergency preparedness, interim structure reinforcement and environmental safeguards.
VDH lifts some of recreational water advisory
Meanwhile, state and local officials are continuing to monitor water conditions and update public health advisories along the Potomac River.
State officials say residents can resume recreational activities. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) lifted the recreational water advisory from Route 120 Chain Bridge to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County on March 5.
A Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) spokesperson said 25 water samples collected along the Potomac River were tested by the state's Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services for enterococci, E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria. The advisory issued on Feb. 13 remains in place upstream as a precaution to prevent against potential health risks from contact with the water or consuming fish.
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Days later, on Feb. 18, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared an emergency and requested that President Donald Trump provide federal resources to help the city fight the leak that dumped 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River in its early stages. The president approved the emergency assistance days later to help the city address the emergency.
The suit argues that prolonged contamination could affect those recreational and business activity uses and damage the river's reputation as a recreation destination.
On Monday, March 2, DC Water lifted its advisory for part of the river near the district.
The lawsuit comes as environmental groups say contamination linked to the spill may still be affecting waterways connected to the Potomac.
Andrew Levetown, Lailas' attorney, with Levetown Law PLLC, shared the following statement with 8News:
We have received a good number of calls and emails from people who have been damaged or will be damaged from this spill, and from citizen’s groups who tried to warn DC Water about the risk of this catastrophic event before it happened. Unfortunately, the damage to the environment in and around the river will continue to get worse as we enter Spring. It is important to warn people to stay away from the river to avoid what could be quite severe health problems. We are concerned about DC Water’s mitigation efforts, which is something we will learn more about as this case progresses. We are hoping that court oversight will expedite the cleanup. Our Named Plaintiff, Dr. Nicholas Lailas’ father worked for the EPA and was charged with enforcing the Clean Water Act when the act was initially passed during the Nixon Administration. When it was passed, President Nixon told his father that the passage of the Act would result in people being able to swim in the Potomac River within a year. Unfortunately, this sewage spill has now made this goal unreachable for the foreseeable future.
As to the case itself, we filed it on Friday as you know. We served DC Water yesterday. The case is filed in federal court in Greenbelt Maryland as the spill occurred in Maryland. It is a prospective class action case meaning we fashioned it as a class action on behalf of all persons and entities damaged by the spill, but the Court must certify the class before it is an actual class action case. This issue will be litigated. In addition, we must wait 60 days from March 3d to add the Clean Water Act claims. Once we do so, we can seek injunctive relief. The CWA claims are not claims for damages to compensate the people and entities impacted. The other parts of the Complaint are claims for damages. Andrew Levetown, Lailas' attorneuy
8News reached out to DC Water for comment, but has not yet heard back as of the time of reporting.
