Oh, Crap!
Spewing sewage and why wetlands matter.
Dear readers,
Jeff Eastland and I co-authored this article.
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It’s high summer now, and we thought it would be a good idea to list the known leaks of untreated sewage — both great and small — that have afflicted the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers since the start of 2026.
Why would we do that? We’ll get to that later.
We gathered this information from various radio and online news sources, personal communications with local journalists and friends, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) website. The Free-Lance Star’s Scott Shenk has done especially commendable work tracking sewage spills in Fredericksburg. In places, the reports we looked at hold minor inconsistencies. We apologize beforehand for any errors. In total, however, we think this list makes clear that it has been a very grim year for local waterways. This is especially so when you consider that in Fredericksburg alone, no sewage spills were reported in 2025.
Keep in mind, too, that our region is riverine. Water is the “universal solvent,” uniquely able to dissolve and carry toxins, especially after rainstorms. So almost everything that flows into our backyards and streets ultimately ends up in the streams and rivers.
January 19 to March 14
Potomac River. 2026 begins with a bang. In the “Potomac Interceptor collapse,” for two months a broken 72-inch pipe in Maryland leaks 243 million gallons of untreated sewage into the river. Repairs aren’t completed until mid-March. This is likely the worst such spill in US history. It prompts a region-wide health and environmental state of emergency and restrictions on fishing and recreation. (Potomac River Keeper Network)
February 7
Stafford County. A clogged manhole spills 9,000 gallons of raw sewage, impacting Aquia Creek as reported by Virginia DEQ.
February 26
Fredericksburg. 125,000 gallons of raw sewage leaks from clogged manholes.
March 12
Fredericksburg. 9,000 gallons of wastewater is reported spilled near the town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.
March 13
Fredericksburg. About 77,500 gallons of untreated wastewater overflows from three manholes, discharging into Hazel Run, a tributary of the Rappahannock River.
Around March 13
Fredericksburg. The same three manholes overflows again. A tiny spill (1 gallon) goes straight into the Rappahannock River.
April 23
Fredericksburg. About 500 gallons of raw sewage flows from a manhole. Humans are potentially exposed, according to reports.
May 4
Fredericksburg. A manhole overflows, dumping 1,000 of sewage near Fall Hill. Potential human exposure is reported.
May 7
Fredericksburg. 99 gallons of wastewater overflows from a manhole at Caroline and Ford streets.
May 8
Fredericksburg. The same manhole spews another 1,000 gallons of raw sewage with potential human exposure. Virginia DEQ reports an unknown amount reached the storm drain, which flows into the river.
June 15
Fredericksburg. City crews report an undetermined amount of wastewater overflow. Virginia DEQ says the sewage threatens Deep Run, which connects to the Rappahannock River.
June 17
Fredericksburg. The City reports an unknown volume of untreated wastewater is discharged into state waters following a power outage affecting manholes near Dixon Street.
July 10
Fredericksburg. About 1,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spills from a pump station near Caroline St.
July 15
Fredericksburg. A citizen reports an overflow from a manhole behind WalMart at Central Park. The amount leaked appears minimal. The DEQ investigation is still ongoing.
July 21
Stafford County. Jesse Adams, founder of Waterway Cleanups, an environmental non-profit located in Stafford County, discovers raw sewage leaking above Accokeek Creek. Accokeek Creek runs into Potomac Creek in the area of the 3,000-acre Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve. Water from both creeks ultimately flows into the Potomac River. The 18-inch sewage pipe leak is believed to date June 7 at least, when Adams first smelled a foul odor at Stafford’s Civil War Park. This means the sewage probably flowed for about six weeks. Adams relates his experience, the aftermath, and the likely impacts here.
You can see — and hear — the pipe spewing raw sewage in this video, taken by Adam’s colleague Sarah Balon:
That’s quite a list of sewage spills. But it’s not the whole story.
It’s important to note that all these events were observed and reported. Our list doesn’t include the daily abuses of local waterways that typically go unnoticed. These include chronically-leaking pipes from aging subdivisions, fertilizers washed into streams by a downpour, the guy who pours used engine oil into a ditch or storm drain, and so on. This “normal” pollution often puts our local creeks in the worst of the Environmental Protection Agency’s five water quality categories.
So, why create a list of the raw sewage spills of the first seven months of 2026?
At this time of year, many people are enjoying local rivers and creeks. They’re out swimming and fishing, or simply taking in the summertime bloom of the native yellow lotus.
If you’re unaware of the latter, here’s a glimpse of what you’re missing on Stafford County’s Accokeek Creek. This video was made just a few days ago by one of this article’s authors:
Many people love our local waterways. Both of us are proud to serve on Stafford County’s Wetlands and Chesapeake Bay Boards, helping to ensure healthy rivers and creeks. And we know there is no greater ally in the fight to contain waterway pollution than nature’s own remedy, wetlands. As the Chesapeake Bay Program explains, wetlands do far more than provide necessary habitat for hundreds of species of fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrates:
Wetlands act like a sponge, soaking up stormwater and dampening storm surges. By trapping polluted runoff, they help slow the flow of nutrients, sediment and chemical contaminants into rivers, streams and the Bay.
In other words, wetlands protect us from ourselves.
Evidence of this protection is abundant even at the local level. Take the July 21st event in Stafford County. When Jesse Adams and Sarah Balon tested the water at the Accokeek Creek spill site, they found nearly three times the acceptable limit for E. coli, a bacteria that can cause severe illness in humans. Yet, when a day or two later they tested the water downstream at the Crow’s Nest preserve’s canoe launch, they found normal bacteria levels and zero E. coli.
The difference? Wetlands. As Adams writes,
…the wetlands had successfully filtered out the harmful bacteria that could have posed significant health risks to residents who recreate in lower Accokeek Creek every day.
There’s a big problem, though.
Wetlands are in serious trouble, both locally and nationwide. Longstanding federal protections on wetlands dating back to the 1972 Clean Water Act are being dramatically rolled back at the request of energy and business groups. Combined with the impacts of development and rising sea levels, it’s projected that almost 90 percent of Virginia’s wetlands will be gone by 2080.
This would be an environmental disaster — one that would certainly come back to haunt us. To quote the Norfolk-based nonprofit Wetlands Watch,
We need to view our wetlands, dunes, and shorelines as critical infrastructure, deserving protection in its own right.
We couldn’t agree more.
Wetlands preservation is self-preservation.
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