Unless drastic action is taken, Washington’s 250th anniversary celebrations could be overshadowed by a rather odorous problem
David Millward
US Correspondent
David Millward has been a member of The Telegraph's US team since 2014. He is based in New England. He has previously covered UK politics, transport, and sports news.
Published
Donald Trump is determined that the United States should mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in style, dwarfing how it celebrated the Bicentennial in 1976.
But the US president’s grand plans – including a 250ft-tall Independence Arch in the middle of the capital and a UFC fight at the White House – risk being overshadowed by a rather odorous problem.
The Potomac River, which runs through Washington, DC, is currently transporting hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage throughout the city that Mr Trump has pledged to make “beautiful” again.
Unless drastic action is taken – and fast – Washington’s soaring summer temperatures and humidity will waft the smell of excrement across the city, just in time for the America 250 celebrations on July 4.
“Trump is lucky that the colonists didn’t declare independence in August, which is, you know, 10 times worse than July,” Christopher Galdieri, a professor of politics at Saint Anselm CollegePIC in New Hampshire, told The Telegraph.
He said Mr Trump will not want the pungent river associated with the anniversary.
“It’s pretty clear this is going to be a Trump event, a Trump-branded holiday.”
The disaster dates back to Jan 19, when the Potomac Interceptor sewer line, which transports 60 million gallons of wastewater a day to a treatment plant, partially collapsed near Cabin John, Maryland.
By Feb 6, the overflow had reached 243 million gallons, according to DC Water.
On Saturday, Mr Trump declared the situation a federal state of emergency, meaning the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) must “coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency”.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Mr Trump was “worried” about the river “still smelling like poop” which had the potential to ruin his celebration.
“The federal government wants to fix it,” Ms Leavitt said. “We hope that the local authorities will co-operate with us in doing so.”
However, the administration hopes the global dignitaries attending the occasion will focus on the slate of celebratory events which will include a mixed martial arts fight on the South Lawn of the White House – rather than the sewage-ridden river running through the US capital.
Mr Trump has attempted to lay the blame for the fiasco at the door of Wes Moore, the Democratic Maryland governor.
“There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly Governor Wes Moore of Maryland,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“A sewer line breach in Maryland has caused millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped directly into the Potomac River, a result of incompetent Local and State Management of Essential Waste Management Systems. This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a Bridge. It is clear that local authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity.
“Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland, must get the Toxic River spill fixed, IMMEDIATELY!
“The Democrats constantly talk about Environmental Pollution and Protection, and yet, they think it’s OK to have hundreds of thousands of gallons a day of sewage pouring into our Beautiful Potomac River, because they failed to maintain and monitor their own Public Systems.”
Mr Trump teased that if the Democrats “asked nicely”, his administration would help.
Even though the pipe belongs to Washington and is on federal land, Maryland officials were on site within hours of the leak.
Mr Moore said: “The two reasons that Maryland decided to intervene – and I’ve ordered our agencies to support – are: One, we wanted to protect the health of Marylanders and any type of contamination or contagion. And the second, we believe in being good neighbours.
“And when our neighbours are in trouble, we are going to find ways to help and support. But to blame Maryland in this when this is a DC pipe on federal land is asinine. It is disingenuous, absurd, and politically motivated,” Mr Moore added.
“But if the president wants me to ask nicely, our response is this: Please, Mr President, do your job.”
Mr Trump has dedicated himself to what he sees as the beautification of Washington during his second term.
He has already announced plans for an Independence Arch – already known locally as the Arc de Trump.
Twice the size of the Lincoln Memorial, and 86ft taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the gilded arch, replete with classical columns, will, Mr Trump says, be the “biggest arch ever”.
Underpinning all this is Mr Trump’s conviction that he has rescued “crime-ridden” Washington by sending in the National Guard. He has also repeatedly called for the federal government to assume control of the Democratic-controlled city.
Hilary Harp Falk, the chief executive of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental group, pinpointed long-standing issues contributing to the Potomac disaster, which she described as a “wake-up call” to the US.
“The Potomac spill draws long overdue attention to ageing wastewater infrastructure that every year sends millions of gallons of raw sewage into rivers across our region, from Harrisburg to Baltimore to Washington, DC to Richmond,” she said.
Fifty years ago, when Gerald Ford was in the White House, the tone was markedly different.
“It wasn’t Gerald Ford presents a Gerald Ford production of the Bicentennial. He saw it as much more of a, hey, the country is in a terrible state after Watergate and everything, so let’s have a big national party and try to get people feeling better about that,” Mr Galdieri said.
“So, there was a community-oriented aspect to it, as opposed to it being about him.”
Jeff Lord, who worked in the Reagan White House, added: “This is the 250th anniversary of the celebration of the country. It would be embarrassing to have something like that in the middle of it.”
The blow, however, could be softened by encouraging people to focus on Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
“You’ve got Independence Hall there,” Mr Lord told The Telegraph. “Washington, DC as it were, didn’t exist 250 years ago.”