Water management officials in Washington, D.C., said repairs to the Potomac River’s sewage system remain on track at a Feb. 23 media briefing, despite public health advisories remaining in place weeks after sewage contamination.

After the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor, one of the region’s major sewer lines, on Jan. 19, sewage overflow sent raw wastewater into the Potomac River, raising concerns about water quality and safety. At the briefing held a month after the spill, D.C. Water officials said repair efforts on the Potomac Interceptor remain on schedule, bypass pumping systems are functioning effectively and that there have been no new overflows for more than two weeks.

Officials added that while the city’s drinking water has not been impacted, the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment released a public health advisory recommending the public avoid contact with the Potomac as bacteria sampling and testing continues.

Sherri Lewis, senior communications manager of D.C. Water, said their repair operations continue to bypass the damaged section of the interceptor.

“We have not had any overflows that have entered the Potomac River for more than two weeks now. Today is actually the 15th day that we’re going into without any overflows,” Lewis said at the briefing. “Our pumping operations, that bypass pumping system, continues to work well and be able to divert the wastewater around the damaged pipe section and back into the Potomac Interceptor.”

Colonel Francis Pera, the Baltimore district commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said drinking water has not been impacted by the overflow. Lewis added that decisions about recreational use of the river should be guided by public health advisory and ongoing water quality monitoring.

“Ultimately it is a personal decision, based on the science, the water quality that we’re seeing and the advice of the district and the experts — the subject matter experts who are advising and issuing those advisories,” Lewis said at the briefing.

Jessica Meiller, co-director of Georgetown’s environment & sustainability program, said students should abide by the suggestions outlined in the public health advisory.

“Students should continue to avoid contact with the Potomac until it has been cleared for recreational use,” Meiller wrote to The Hoya. “If they do touch the water, they should wash their hands and any clothes or gear that came into contact with it.”

Raw sewage introduces fecal contamination into the river, which can carry bacteria and viruses harmful to humans.