\u00a0massive sewage spill nearly one month ago.<\/a><\/p>\nOfficials say the river remains partially frozen, but with highs climbing into the 50s this week, bacteria trapped in the ice could soon be released into the water, posing risks to people who live, work, or recreate along the river.<\/p>\n
Visitors at the Georgetown waterfront on Saturday said they were alarmed to learn how far the contamination may have spread.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might have to invest in a mask or a clothespin for my nose come the springtime because I don\u2019t want it to smell like Victorian London,\u201d one visitor, Griffin, said.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Megan, says she’s a nurse and expressed concern about outdoor activities popular along the river corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super gross and it\u2019s dangerous,\u201d the resident said. \u201cPeople love to hike Great Falls and go kayaking. I think it\u2019s really going to get some people sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health officials have called the spill an ecological disaster. An estimated 250 million gallons of raw sewage poured into the Potomac River after a pipe burst in Cabin John, Maryland, nearly a month ago.<\/p>\n
Maryland lawmakers met Friday to discuss next steps as testing continues.<\/p>\n
Experts warn that exposure to contaminated water, even through small cuts, could cause serious infections.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big risk is having a cut and having contact that could lead to a serious infection that can\u2019t really be treated with antibiotics,\u201d said Dean Naujoks, with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups say the timing is especially concerning as warmer weather is expected to draw thousands of people back to the river in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of this melting ice can trap bacteria and then cause a delayed release,\u201d Naujok said. \u201cPeople need to be cautious for quite some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers from the University of Maryland testified that testing detected toxic bacteria as far as nine miles downstream from the rupture site, reaching areas near Alexandria, Virginia, and National Harbor, Maryland.<\/p>\n
Samples showed not only E. coli, but also Staphylococcus aureus and the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA.<\/p>\n
Dean Naujoks with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network said the contamination is visible in some areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can visibly see all this raw sewage and toilet paper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Residents at the Georgetown waterfront said they want clearer signage and stronger public health alerts, especially as spring approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI live not a mile from here, and I had no idea,\u201d Griffin said.<\/p>\n
Officials say the concern is not limited to the water itself. Sediment along the riverbanks may also contain harmful bacteria, posing an ongoing risk in the months ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some spending a warm Valentine’s Day at the Georgetown Waterfront said they didn’t even know about the spill…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-471572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}