Mysterious pollution sheen on the Potomac River. (Courtesy of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment)

Mysterious pollution sheen on the Potomac River. (Courtesy of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment)

Today the Potomac Riverkeepers Network announced they are offering a $1,000 reward for information identifying those responsible for an unidentified oily plume in the Potomac River, which could impact the drinking water for area residents.

“The bottom line is: this is a threat to the drinking water supply to millions of people and it’s requiring [many government agencies] to respond to this spill,” says Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeepers Network spokesperson. “This is a huge tax of resources on these agencies, so from our perspective, if this was done intentionally, this is illegal. We’re putting out this reward because we want to send a clear message that we want to find the person responsible and turn them over to authorities and demand prosecution.”

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has reassured residents that their drinking water remains safe and that the WSSC will be able to treat anything that gets into the system.

The 4-mile long, 30-by-60 foot wide slowly floating sheen of unidentified pollutant was identified Sunday about 45 miles upstream of the District, and has puzzled District and federal authorities since. On Monday the pollution traveled as far south as the Seneca Dam but has not progressed further downriver, the WSSC said.

“The sheen that was on the water is actually so thin, it won’t accumulate or attach to any of the absorbent materials we use,” John Emminizer, a DC Department of Energy and Environment spokesperson, told WJLA. “With that, it’s hard to capture it, sample it, and determine what type of material it is.”

Because the contents of the pollution plume are unknown, water utilities in the area have taken measures to protect the drinking water supply including setting booms, preparing to close intakes, and monitoring the river more frequently. Investigators estimate between ten and a thousand gallons of fluid was leaked or spilled, but are hoping the thin layer will quickly dissipate, according to WJLA.

In August the Environmental Protection Agency was hit with a lawsuit over the District’s historically polluted waters. Three nonprofit groups said the EPA often permits dangerous amounts of E. coli into local waterways, among many other issues associated with the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.

Last March the Potomac River got a “B-” rating in overall health from the Potomac Conservancy, an upgrade from the “C” grade it had received three years earlier. In its report, the Conservancy said its namesake river was on the way to recovery and should become swimmable and fishable by 2025, but noted polluted runoff “threatens to undo decades of restoration progress.”

The Network said it will pass along any information it receives to the EPA, the lead federal agency coordinating the response and spearheading the investigation of the pollution.

“We want someone to step forward and if $1,000 isn’t enough we want to make the reward big enough for someone to tell us what happened,” Naujoks said. “We do not want this [incident] to come across to anyone that this is acceptable, that this is ok, that it’s just a small amount of pollution … it’s costing an extraordinary amount of taxpayer dollars.”

Filed Under: epa, pollution, potomac river, potomac riverkeepers,