President Donald Trump announced the deployment of federal forces to combat the effects of a massive sewage leak into the Potomac River. The decision came four weeks after a main collector pipe ruptured in Maryland, leading to the release of over 240 million gallons of waste. The White House blamed local Democrats, including Governor Wes Moore, for the crisis, accusing them of gross incompetence in managing critical infrastructure.

FEMA Intervention

The President directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take direct oversight of the cleanup from the historic sewage leak in the capital region.

Conflict with the Governor

Donald Trump accused Wes Moore of incompetence and terrible management of infrastructure, which led to a crisis of national scale.

Failure in Cabin John

The cause of the disaster was the rupture of a six-foot collector pipe, which had been releasing waste into the Potomac River since January 19.

The ecological situation in the Washington region has become a flashpoint in relations between the federal administration and state authorities. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the FEMA will take on a key role in coordinating repair efforts. The crisis began on January 19, 2026, when a six-foot diameter pipe ruptured in Cabin John. The failure caused hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage to spill into the Potomac River, a major waterway for the capital. Trump described the event as a "historic ecological disaster" and a "national calamity." The Potomac River has struggled with pollution problems for decades, and major infrastructure projects from the 1970s, such as the Clean Water Act, aimed to restore its cleanliness. The sewer systems on the US East Coast are among the oldest in the country, regularly leading to failures during extreme weather events or due to pipe corrosion.The President did not spare criticism for the Governor of Maryland. Wes Moore became the target of accusations of gross negligence and a lack of competence in overseeing waste disposal systems. Trump linked this incident to the state's previous problems, mentioning the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore. In response, Governor Moore rejected these accusations, foreshadowing a prolonged legal and political dispute over the cost-sharing for cleanup. Technical services are currently working to redirect sewage back to the Potomac Interceptor using temporary earthen barriers. „It is evident that local authorities are incapable of properly handling this calamity. I will not allow the Potomac to turn into a disaster zone.” — Donald TrumpEstimated Leak: 240, System Daily Limit: 60240 million — gallons of sewage entered the Potomac Rivertrue: The collector failure indeed occurred in January, and state authorities had been reporting difficulties securing the rupture site for weeks. (FEMA)

Mentioned People

  • Donald Trump — President of the USA, who ordered federal intervention regarding the sewage leak.
  • Wes Moore — Governor of Maryland, accused by the president of incompetence.