Hundreds of millions of raw sewage has entered the Potomac – and it all could have been avoided by better monitoring and maintenance of these antiquated sewer pipes! And better accountability from DC Water. To put in a different perspective, one day of discharge would fill 2666 Olympic ice skating rinks – think of that as you watch the Milan Olympics.
The reporting on this story has been everywhere. PRKN has been featured in over 50 news stories in media outlets around the world: AP, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, WUSA, WRC, Manila Post (we're not making that up), just to name a few. The pairs of eyes reached numbers in the millions, thanks to Dean's willingness to engage with the news media. We are also grateful to Ashley Flores, PRKN's Digital Marketing and Communications Manager, for her appearance on Telemundo 44 – Washington DC's Spanish language affiliate associated with local WRC. She was able to reach the region's large Hispanic and Latino community for this important story.
Too many links to add here; instead, just google "Naujoks sewage spill Potomac 2026" and you will get plenty. He even got a shoutout – by name – from Stephen Colbert on the Late Show. And our social media presence has dramatically expanded – nearly 3,000 new followers and over 1.5 million views across our social media platforms since the news broke.
Dean and Evan made several site visits — and continue doing so — and additional testing which showed remarkably high levels of E. Coli bacterial contamination. On January 28, they were joined by some topnotch University of Maryland researchers who specialize in sewage analysis. They did further testing for other pathogens and early measurements indicate even more potentially serious consequences to this spill. More on that to come.
Check out our press release about the data confirming the devastating impact on water quality.