US Geological Survey (USGS) employees, part of the federal science agency that monitors the nation's natural resources and hazards, collect water samples from Chain Bridge in McLean, Virginia, on February 18, 2026, after a sewage leak released 243 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River. A nonprofit says authorities in the US capital Washington have failed to properly warn the public about a massive sewage leak into the Potomac River, thought to be among the largest such spills in the nation's history. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)