Major Wastewater Spill Reported In PG County

UPPER MARLBORO, MD -- Historic rain caused a major wastewater spill in Upper Marlboro over the weekend, officials say.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) reported that there were three wastewater spills on Sunday totaling around 165,000 gallons at the Western Branch Water Resource Recovery Facility in Upper Marlboro.

"The first spill began at about 5:00 a.m. on Sunday and lasted for about six hours," WSSC said in a statement. "The second spill began at 6:00 p.m. and lasted for about seven hours, and the third spill began at approximately 6:45 p.m. and lasted for about six hours and 15 minutes. Partially treated, highly diluted wastewater reached the Western Branch Stream."

WSSC blamed the spill on the "historic rain event" the D.C. region experienced this past weekend. The facility is designed to treat around 30 million gallons of wastewater per day, but because of the rain it had to deal with 90 million gallons.

WSSC said the spills do not affect drinking water, which is treated separately from wastewater.

(Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images - Note: Photo does not depict facility in question)