A 72-inch diameter pipe collapsed in the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal National Historical Park near Clara Barton Parkway Jan. 19, leading to a massive sewage leak. The eastbound lane of Clara Barton Parkway will remain closed until further notice, and drivers on Interstate 495 and Clara Barton Parkway should anticipate major delays.
The pipe is part of the Potomac Interceptor, which carries roughly 60 million pounds of sewage daily. The channel moves wastewater from Montgomery County and parts of Northern Virginia to the Potomac Pumping Station in Washington, D.C., before diverting it to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Southwest Washington.
To suppress the overflow, D.C. Water is constructing a temporary bypass to divert the wastewater upstream of the collapse. On Wednesday, construction crews cleared debris and installed pipes for the bypass. On Thursday, D.C. Water and the National Park Service began removing the canal’s upper lock gates, aiming to activate the pumps that would redirect the wastewater by the weekend…