OlmoEarth-v1-Potomac-Sewage-Spill-2026

Validated, time-aligned reference dataset supporting GeoAI tracking of the 2026 Potomac River sewage spill (Glen Echo, MD — 240–300 million gallons released from the 72-inch Potomac Interceptor on January 19, 2026). Provides event timeline, hydrologic context, monitoring station locations, and AOI corridor polygons for AI2's downstream Sentinel-1/2 plume detection.

8 USGS gauges · 846 daily flow records · 4 CBP/CBF stations in AOI · 37 NHD waterbody polygons · 4-phase timeline · Dec 2025 – Mar 2026

v4 (April 2026) structural fixes:

• Replaced bbox AOIs with 37 NHD high-resolution waterbody polygons (Potomac mainstem, Anacostia, upper Bay; all >=1 km²)
• Filtered the broad CBP integration manifest (was 3,933 keyword-matched stations) to 4 stations with verified coordinates within the AOI
• Added reference event logs for control windows in 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 (no spill) — enables false-positive characterization for plume detection
• Documented the JBA jet fuel leak (Mar 23, 2026 – ongoing) as a known confounding event affecting tidal_potomac_lower and upper_chesapeake_bay AOIs from late March onward (see docs/confounding_events.md). Five entries appended to event_log.csv with event_type = confounding_external. No time-series data has been modified.

Per the case study scope: BAI prepares time-aligned reference data; the OlmoEarth team analyzes Sentinel-1/2 imagery to detect plume formation, transport, and recovery. BAI does not perform satellite processing or modeling. This is an event reference / validation dataset, not a training set.

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Quick Start

Two formats are provided:

Option A — OlmoEarth Studio Web UI (studio/import_corridor.json)

Upload via Studio's "Import your own dataset" feature for visualization and embedding extraction at the corridor stations.

import json
with open("studio/import_corridor.json") as f:
    data = json.load(f)

Option B — Pipeline / rslearn (rslearn/annotation_features.geojson)

For direct use with olmoearth_run prepare_labeled_windows or any rslearn-compatible workflow.

import json, pandas as pd

flow = pd.read_parquet("data.parquet")           # daily streamflow, phase-tagged
timeline = json.load(open("timeline.json"))      # 4-phase chronology
spill = json.load(open("spill_metadata.geojson"))  # spill site + receiving waters
stns = json.load(open("monitoring_stations.geojson"))  # 8 USGS gauges

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Files

Path	Records	Purpose
data.parquet	846	Daily streamflow at corridor stations (phase-tagged)
timeline.json	4 phases	Event chronology (pre / active / bypass / post)
event_log.csv	71 events	Day-level operational events (DC Water updates, Jan 19 – Apr 28)
event_log.geojson	71 events	Same event log anchored to spill-site coordinate
cbp_water_quality_manifest.csv	3,933 stations	Broad keyword-matched CBP candidates (manifest only, see below)
cbp_water_quality_manifest.geojson	1 polygon	AOI bbox + integration metadata
cbp_water_quality_stations.geojson	4 stations	CBP/CBF stations with verified coordinates within AOI (use this for spatial analysis)
waterbodies.geojson	37 polygons	NHD high-resolution waterbody polygons (replaces bbox AOIs)
reference_event_logs/control_2024_2025.csv	2 entries	No-spill control window (Dec 2024 – Apr 2025)
reference_event_logs/control_2023_2024.csv	2 entries	No-spill control window (Dec 2023 – Apr 2024)
reference_event_logs/README.md	—	How to use control windows for false-positive baseline
docs/cbp_integration.md	—	API endpoints, parameters, and pull instructions
spill_metadata.geojson	5	Spill site + 4 receiving water polygons
monitoring_stations.geojson	8	USGS gauges along the corridor
tabular/potomac_flow_daily.csv	846	CSV mirror of data.parquet
rslearn/annotation_features.geojson	32	Station × phase reference points (oe_* schema)
rslearn/annotation_task_features.geojson	4	AOI corridor stages
studio/import_corridor.{geojson,json}	32	Studio Web UI format
docs/event_sources.md	—	Public-domain reporting on the spill
audit_output/ASSESSMENT.md	—	Criteria audit

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Schemas

rslearn / pipeline schema (rslearn/annotation_features.geojson)

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "geometry": {"type": "Point", "coordinates": [lon, lat]},
  "properties": {
    "oe_labels": {"category": 1},
    "oe_start_time": "2026-01-19 00:00:00+00:00",
    "oe_end_time": "2026-01-24 23:59:59+00:00",
    "oe_annotations_task_id": "uuid",
    "site_no": "01646500",
    "phase": "active_release",
    "role": "near_spill"
  }
}

Category encoding: 0 = pre_spill_baseline, 1 = active_release, 2 = bypass_period, 3 = post_recovery.

Studio import schema (studio/import_corridor.json)

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "geometry": {"type": "Point", "coordinates": [lon, lat]},
  "properties": {
    "task_name": "near_spill",
    "observation_time": "2026-01-19T00:00:00Z",
    "sample_category": "active_release",
    "sample_number": 1,
    "sample_true_false": true
  }
}

Field mapping:

• sample_category → phase label (pre_spill_baseline, active_release, bypass_period, post_recovery)
• sample_number → phase index (0–3)
• sample_true_false → true if not pre-spill baseline

These names are required for Studio's auto-detection of training fields.

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Event Summary

Field	Value
Date	January 19, 2026
Site	Glen Echo, Montgomery County, MD (Clara Barton Pkwy / C&O Canal NHP)
Coordinates	38.9676°N, -77.1437°W
Operator	DC Water
Pipe	72-inch Potomac Interceptor (collapse)
Volume	240,000,000 – 300,000,000 gallons
Bypass active	January 24, 2026
Repairs complete	March 14, 2026

Phases

Phase	Window	Description
pre_spill_baseline	2025-12-01 → 2026-01-18	Pre-spill baseline (implicit "negative" reference)
active_release	2026-01-19 → 2026-01-24	Initial collapse → bypass activation; max untreated discharge
bypass_period	2026-01-25 → 2026-03-14	Bypass active, reduced (but ongoing) impact
post_recovery	2026-03-15 → 2026-03-31	Repairs complete; recovery monitoring

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AOI Corridor

Stage	Bbox (lon / lat)	Description
spill_site_zone	-77.20 to -77.08, 38.94 to 39.00	Glen Echo / Little Falls vicinity
tidal_potomac_dc	-77.20 to -77.00, 38.78 to 38.98	DC reach of the Potomac
tidal_potomac_lower	-77.10 to -76.30, 38.00 to 38.78	Lower tidal Potomac → mouth
upper_chesapeake_bay	-76.50 to -76.00, 37.80 to 38.40	Upper Bay receiving zone

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Streamflow Coverage

Source: USGS NWIS daily values service (parameter 00060, statistic 00003).

Site	Role	Records
01638500	upstream_control	121
01646000	upstream_chain_bridge	121
01646500	near_spill	121
01649500	anacostia_tributary	121
01652500	tidal_dc	121
01658500	mid_potomac	120
01661050	lower_potomac	121
01651000	anacostia_lower	0 (no data in window)

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Event Intelligence Layer

event_log.csv and event_log.geojson provide a day-level operational record from DC Water updates spanning January 19 – April 28, 2026. Used as an event intelligence / narrative explanation layer, not analytical input — gives temporal alignment for satellite acquisitions and operational context for plume detection signals.

Event type	Count	Examples
cleanup	20	Sludge / soil removal, canal sections
containment	14	Bypass install, pump capacity expansion
repair	12	Pipe reinforcement, rehab, flow restoration
excavation	6	Site dig, soil stabilization
monitoring	5	Water quality testing, aerial assessment
assessment	5	Pipe inspection, condition reports
infrastructure	5	Long-term rehab milestones
weather	3	Storm prep, weather-driven delays
incident	1	Initial overflow event

Source: DC Water Potomac Interceptor Updates.

Schema: date, event_type, description, phase, source_url.

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Caveats

• Not a training dataset. Only 32 station-phase records — far below any fine-tuning threshold. Designed for validation and context.
• AOI polygons are bbox rectangles, not actual watershed/Bay polygons. Replace with NHD/watershed shapes for production-grade analysis.
• CBP water quality data not auto-fetched. Available manually via datahub.chesapeakebay.net; cited as a source but not bundled here.
• One station (01651000) had no NWIS data in the event window; retained in metadata for completeness.
• Plume detection is out of scope. AI2's OlmoEarth team performs Sentinel-1/2 analysis to produce plume maps, footprint, duration, and recovery timeline.

Known Confounding Events

A separate environmental incident overlaps with this dataset's window:

• JBA jet fuel leak — discovered March 23, 2026 on Piscataway Creek (Joint Base Andrews); active containment and cleanup ongoing through May 2026+. Piscataway Creek drains into the Potomac within tidal_potomac_lower AOI and downstream effects could reach upper_chesapeake_bay.

Any satellite-detected anomaly in those AOIs from late March 2026 onward could be from either the sewage spill recovery or the JBA leak. We cannot separate the two from this dataset alone.

See docs/confounding_events.md for full details and reasoning. Five entries added to event_log.csv with event_type = "confounding_external". No time-series data has been modified — this is documentation only.

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Sources

All data is public domain.

• USGS NWIS — waterdata.usgs.gov
• DC Water — Potomac Interceptor Collapse
• Virginia Department of Health — Potomac Sewage Spill News
• Maryland DEP / MDE — Potomac Interceptor Sewer Overflow
• DC DOEE — Potomac Interceptor Update and FAQs
• Chesapeake Bay Program Data Hub — datahub.chesapeakebay.net

Related

• allenai/OlmoEarth-v1-Base
• olmoearth_projects
• rslearn
• OlmoEarth Studio docs
• 2imi9/OlmoEarth-v1-FT-Karst-Groundwater-Base — sister dataset (PA karst FT)
• 2imi9/OlmoEarth-v1-Chesapeake-Bay-Nutrient-Loads — sister dataset (Chesapeake nutrient loads)

Citation

@dataset{qi2026potomac_spill,
  author    = {Qi, Ziming and BAI Group},
  title     = {OlmoEarth-v1-Potomac-Sewage-Spill-2026: Event Reference Dataset for Plume Tracking},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Hugging Face},
  url       = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/2imi9/OlmoEarth-v1-Potomac-Sewage-Spill-2026}
}

License

Apache 2.0. USGS source data and agency reports are public domain.