Washington mayor seeks aid on giant sewage spill

WASHINGTON

Raw sewage flows out of a drainage pipe into the C&O Canal near Cabin John, Maryland.

Washington's mayor declared a public emergency on Feb. 19 over a major sewage leak, seeking aid from the White House after the Trump administration criticized local leaders for their response.

One month ago, a pipe carrying sewage from the U.S. capital and parts of the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia burst, sending hundreds of millions of liters of waste into the Potomac River.

The ecological disaster has become a danger to the river's health and residents who use it for drinking water, while stoking a political fight between President Donald Trump and a rising Democratic star, Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser requested a presidential disaster declaration and "declared a local public emergency" in order to get federal funds for the relief effort, her office said in a statement on Feb. 18.

She was also seeking 100 percent "reimbursement for costs incurred by the District and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority" related to the disaster, it added.

Scientists have detected dangerously high concentrations of bacteria from fecal matter, including E.coli, in waters affected by the spill.

With the leak's Maryland location upriver from Washington, much of it found its way to the waters skirting the U.S. capital.

On Feb. 18, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Moore of having "abandoned and neglected" the 60-year-old pipe, saying the federal government was ready to step in and help, if asked.