Fortunately, there's enough sewage generated in this city to keep the flow going indefinitely (Updated)

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Monday:

The Potomac Pipe Collapse Now Ranks Among America’s Worst Sewage Spills

Around a month ago, a 72-inch sewer line failed along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Md. The Potomac Interceptor, owned and operated by DC Water, ruptured on Jan. 19, sending untreated wastewater into the C&O Canal and the Potomac River; what began as a local emergency has grown into one of the largest municipal wastewater spills in American history.

Related: Sewage Flows Toward Washington As Accountability Flows Away

Spill volume reaches historic levels

According to DC Water leaders' estimates, at least 243 million gallons of untreated sewage escaped during the first days after the collapse, while independent river advocates believe the total could approach 300 million gallons.

Either figure puts this incident among the largest wastewater disasters ever recorded in the United States, rivaling the 2017 Tijuana River spill along the California border, which released about 230 million gallons.

The Potomac Interceptor usually carries around 60 million gallons per day, and when the concrete wall failed, the river absorbed days of raw discharge before pumping began.

There's no serious dispute about the scale; the scene speaks for itself.

February 21, 2022:

Bonus material: after first describing the Gadis video as “alleged”, and claiming it could find no record of its existence, Google’s AI, after my challenge: “why do you you use the term ‘alleged’ when a video of the actual interview is all over the internet? Are you claiming it’s a fake?” admitted that the video is not a fake and that Gadis did say it:

2nd answer:

The video source you are referencing is an interview with David Gadis featured on the YouTube channel "Good Day AWWA!", a program by the American Water Works Association.

  • Interview Date: February 21, 2022.

  • Key Content: In this interview, Gadis discusses how diversity, equity, and inclusion are core strategic principles at DC Water. He explains his decision-making process when he first took the CEO position, noting that the utility’s executive leadership and workforce should deliberately reflect the diverse demographics of Washington, D.C..

AI’s okay, but not infallible, for neutral, non-political subjects, but the purple-haired nose-berringed radicals writing the algorithms for these search engines cannot be trusted. Here are Grok’s responses to the same question:

“On what date and in which interview did D.C. Water Commisioner David Gadis make the statements: ‘We had too many white men in charge’ and ‘The executives should reflect the city’?”

The statements attributed to D.C. Water CEO and General Manager David L. Gadis—"We had too many white men in charge" and "The executives should reflect the city"—appear in a video clip that went viral on X (formerly Twitter) on February 18, 2026. The clip was posted by the account @EndWokeness (among others reposting/quoting it), framing it in the context of a major sewage spill into the Potomac River (reported as approximately 240 million gallons over the prior month, described in posts as the largest in U.S. history).

The video shows Gadis speaking these words, likely from a public appearance, interview, or speech emphasizing diversity in leadership to better match the city's demographics. However, no sources specify the exact original date of the interview/statement or the precise outlet/context (e.g., a TV interview, podcast, board meeting, or panel discussion).

The viral spread ties it directly to criticism amid the ongoing Potomac Interceptor pipe collapse and spill (which began in January 2026, with updates through mid-February 2026), but the statements themselves predate that event, as they are presented as prior remarks on leadership composition.

Searches across web results, news archives, and X posts do not uncover an earlier publication date for the clip or a named interview source (e.g., no hits on specific programs like Fox, CNN, local DC media, or podcasts). The earliest prominent posting of the clip is from February 18, 2026, by @EndWokeness, with widespread reposts that day.

Gadis has issued statements on the spill itself (e.g., an open letter around February 10-12, 2026, calling it "deeply troubling" and detailing response efforts), but those do not include these quotes.In summary, the statements come from a video clip resurfaced and amplified on February 18, 2026, but the original recording date and interview details remain unspecified in available public sources. If this refers to a specific recent or archived interview, it may require access to the full unedited video or DC Water archives for confirmation.

Follow up challenge and Grok’s second response:

My own research reveals that Gadis made that statement on the YouTube channel Good Day AWAA!" on February 21, 2022; why didn't your own search turn this up?

Thoughts

The statements were made by David L. Gadis during an interview on the "Good Day AWWA!" YouTube channel (hosted by the American Water Works Association), which was uploaded on or around February 21, 2022.My prior searches primarily targeted the context of the February 2026 viral clip and the associated Potomac River sewage spill, where the excerpt was widely shared on X and news sites without referencing the original source or date. Sources at the time emphasized the recent crisis and framed the quote as a prior remark, but did not link back to the 2022 interview. A targeted follow-up search using details from your query surfaced the full video.

UPDATE: Burning Madolf alerts me that Gadis is the same moron who was involved in the Flint Michigan lead pipe water disaster. Corruption and incompetence stretching from local officials to the governor’s office, so it’s no wonder he was hired by D.C.