Council committee questions DC Water nominees on Potomac interceptor break, seeks independent review

Chairperson Allen opened a public roundtable on March 19 to consider mayoral resolutions reappointing and appointing members to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) board and spent much of the session pressing nominees about the Potomac interceptor break and related remediation.

Rajne Butani Bhatt, the current principal DC Water board member and chair of the retail water and sewer rates committee, told the committee she is "grateful to Mayor Bowser for her continued confidence" and cited more than a decade of board service. Butani Bhatt said affordability work and long-term infrastructure planning have been central to her oversight role and pointed to the interceptor incident as a reminder of the need for sustained investment and strong project oversight.

Dr. Jimmy Ortiz, a long-time Ward 6 resident and current alternate DC Water board member, described his public‑service and operations experience and told the committee the board has emphasized transparency in its response. "Transparency has been the most important part for us to make sure that the community knows what happened, how we're going to remediate it, and so it doesn't happen again," Ortiz said.

Vince McConey, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner nominated to serve as an alternate board member, spoke of bringing neighborhood perspective and federal oversight experience to the board and applauded the independent investigation into the break. He said the emergency response by DC Water employees helped avert a larger contamination, and emphasized the need to coordinate construction and communications so residents are not surprised by disruptions.

Chairperson Allen repeatedly pressed nominees on whether the third‑party review is independent from DC Water management, its expected timeline, and who is stewarding remediation across jurisdictions. Nominees confirmed the board solicited an outside investigator, that the investigator has requested DC Water documents, and that the board chair is managing the contract with the third party separate from DC Water's internal review. The committee asked staff to provide a completion timeline for the investigation.

The nominees described the complexity of remediation because of multi‑jurisdictional stakeholders (DC, Maryland, Virginia and federal agencies). Several witnesses said federal partners, including FEMA and EPA, have taken lead roles in aspects of remediation and that board members are pushing for clear communication to residents and stakeholders about where removed material is being taken and how environmental impacts will be addressed. Chairperson Allen said early communications eroded trust: "I don't trust what the process looks like," he said, and asked the DC board members to press their colleagues and regional partners for clearer answers.

Nominees also discussed capital‑improvement planning and the budget cycle: emergency repairs dominated responses in the near term, and any reprioritization of projects would follow DC Water's budget and stakeholder solicitation process. Butani Bhatt said the board has requested an affordability presentation for its rates committee and described efforts to work with the Office of the People's Counsel on consumer protections.

The committee asked each nominee about potential conflicts of interest. McConey and Butani Bhatt said they have no current contracts with DC Water and would deconflict or recuse themselves from matters where private interests arise. Ortiz said he would consult legal staff if questions emerged.

The roundtable concluded with Chairperson Allen closing the public record and announcing that written testimony will be accepted through March 23, 2026. The committee also scheduled a public hearing on March 26 on six bills related to water and utility protections.

The record for the nominations will remain open until the committee closes written testimony on March 23; the committee did not take a confirmation vote during the roundtable.