The stench of sewage filled the tunnel under Canal Road at Glover Archbold National Park early Friday afternoon, as liquid poured from a crack in the wall on the structure’s northwest side.

Pedestrians and bicyclists use the tunnel to cross between Canal Road and the Capital Crescent Trail, which runs along the C&O Canal and the Potomac River.

When the leak started was unclear.  “I believe we were made aware of it on Wednesday,” stated DC Water Chief of Office of Marketing and Communications John Lisle. He stated the leak was described to him as a “seepage from the 48-inch Upper Potomac Interceptor (UPI) just upstream” of a recently completed repair project on the Capital Crescent Trail. An estimated 10 gallons an hour may have leaked, according to Lisle.

DC Water crews worked at the site on Friday. By 1:45 p.m., they had stopped the leak and patched the wall.

“The next step is for our Sewer Services and Engineering Departments to meet next week and discuss if more long-term repairs are needed,” Lisle stated.

The sewer renovation project occurred immediately south and west of the tunnel. An average of about 2.6 million gallons a day of sewage and storm water flows through a Park main that passes beside the tunnel, according to a 2016 report from DC Water.

TUNNEL LEAK: DC Water crews work on Friday afternoon, March 15, 2019, at the tunnel under Canal Road at Glover Archbold National Park, where a sewage leak occurred. The leak was stopped and the wall where it occurred was patched by 1:45 p.m. All Photos Credit: John A. Bray