Sewage Tracking and Microbial Studies in the Potomac River
Proposed Research Project
Dr. Feng Chen’s lab received the funding support from the Angel Investors to investigate the environmental impact of the massive sewage spill that happened on January 19, 2026 in the Potomac River. This spill surged nearly 250 gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River and is one of largest spills in U.S. history. This project aims at understanding the spatiotemporal changes of microbial communities along the Potomac River and tracking the dispersal of raw sewage sludge. Sewage sludges contain potential pathogens (i.e. viruses and bacteria), heavy metals, and synthetic organic pollutants, etc. which can pose a threat to the health of ecosystem, particularly to the benthic life.
The original work began on March 3, 2026 when the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) deployed R/V Rachel Carson to collect water samples from the spill site all the way to the mouth of the Potomac River. Many researchers from UMCES participated in this cruise to conduct collaborative research with a goal to provide a systematic assessment of potential impact of this sewage spill on the Bay ecosystem. Dr. Yufeng (Freddy) Jia from Dr. Chen’s lab joined the cruise and collected both water and sediment samples. (Photo: Freddy is preparing microbial samples on R/V Rachel Carson. Strict safety rules were followed to collect raw sewage samples.) Additional samples were also collected in the following months via different venues. Freddy analyzed microbial communities in water and sediments by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and tracked the transportation of sewage sludge by counting bacterium Clostridium perfringens, a method developed by Dr. Russell Hill at IMET 30 years ago.
We are grateful to this timely funding support, which will allow us to analyze more samples over a longer time period and provide a comprehensive evaluation on a long-term ecological impact of this sewage spill on the Chesapeake Bay microbial community.