Virginia residents say DC Water ignored 2024 sewer failure under neighborhood before Potomac spill
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia residents say warning signs about a failing sewer pipeline running beneath their community existed for years, foreshadowing the millions of gallons of raw sewage that would later be dumped into the Potomac River -- an incident that Congress is investigating.
In a letter obtained by 8News, Citizens for Great Falls -- a nonpartisan advocacy group formed to provide a unified voice for residents -- sent a letter supporting Nicholas Lailas, a Virginia recreational boater, who filed a class-action lawsuit against DC Water days prior over failures involving the Potomac River spill that occurred in January.
The Potomac Interceptor runs behind the Great Falls community, carrying the same volume of raw sewage under homes, properties and parkland that ultimately spilled into the Potomac River in January 2026 and sent over 200 million gallons of sewage into the river.
In the March 6 lawsuit, Lailas alleged negligence in the maintenance of the Potomac Interceptor pipe, including failure to maintain aging infrastructure and to prevent the catastrophic collapse of the pipe.
MORE: Virginia boater sues DC Water over Potomac River sewage spill
The residents highlighted a 2024 failure near Manhole 31, which caused a massive sinkhole while DC Water was actively working on that portion of the line. This damaged infrastructure and raised concerns about risks to trails and private drinking-water wells.
"This failure exposed severe deterioration in the 1960s-era pipeline and foreshadowed the
catastrophic collapse that occurred in 2026," citizens wrote in the letter.
The incident allegedly received little media attention and was ultimately ignored by DC Water, per the letter, causing a "catastrophic sinkhole," damage to access roads, closure of a regional trail segment, risks to nearby structures, threats to private drinking-water wells and intolerable noxious and unhealthy odors.
MORE: Two river spills renew concerns about Virginia’s aging water infrastructure
"The incident triggered long-term well-water monitoring that continues today, two years later, as work at Manhole 31 remains unfinished," the letter reads.
DC Water knew that the Potomac Interceptor was at risk, per Great Falls citizens
The citizens of Great Falls said that DC Water knew the Potomac Interceptor was at risk of failure back in April 2025, though they approved a $44.7 million contract related to rehabilitation planning and emergency work.
The letter also mentioned technical findings from DC Water engineers showing pipeline segments had structure defect ratings. They suggested that DC Water may have delayed repairs to spread costs over time.
Residents argued that prioritizing budget considerations over urgent repairs was not in the public interest.
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Community members also reported a lack of transparency, noting that residents still lack clear inspection results, risk assessments and long-term plans for the pipeline beneath their homes.
They raised concerns about DC Water leadership and reference the CEO's past role at a company involved in litigation related to the Flint water crisis and question whether infrastructure risks are being properly managed.
