District of Columbia officials spent over $67 million on cleanup after the January 2025 winter storm in the district, closing roads and sidewalks for days after the snow pileup.
The district government took heat in late January and early February from critics who slammed Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration’s cleanup efforts during and after the storm, when freezing temperatures led to a layer of ice forming above the significant snowfall. That slow snow clearance, however, cost the district nearly $70 million.
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Caitlin McMahon, communications director for the Office of the City Administrator, confirmed the cleanup numbers reported by the51st‘s Martin Austermuhle. McMahon told the Washington Examiner that the district Department of Public Works spent $50.4 million, the Department of General Services spent $11.1 million, and its Department of Transportation spent $5.7 million.
The Department of Public Works spent over $50 million on the cleanup in the form of salt purchases, contract plows, alley clearing, scooping and hauling, necessities such as food and shelter, and overtime and personnel costs, according to McMahon. This was over seven times the amount of taxpayer dollars it was allotted for the winter, according to the 51st’s report.
“Given the once-in-a-generation nature of the January 2026 storm, DC Government mobilized every possible team member, resource, and available dollar on getting the city operational again,” McMahon told the Washington Examiner.
Much of the expenses came from the machinery the district used to clear, scoop, and haul the snow. The district spent $20 million on contracting Bobcat machines to clear snow from alleys and $19.67 million on moving 900 truckloads of “snowcrete,” McMahon said.
“DC was first in the region to reopen schools, maintained government operations throughout, and ensured critical services were maintained during the storm,” McMahon said. “Mayor Bowser is proud of the District’s response to this extreme weather event and of DC Gov staff’s tireless efforts to keep residents safe and informed.”
The Department of Public Works told the Washington Examiner in late January that it was using hundreds of snow plows across the district and was also using equipment such as dump trucks, front loaders, and contractor plows to break up the icy top layer and remove the snow.
“This winter storm was complex, and our response tactics have had to evolve. Ice, sleet, and snow—combined with persistent, below-freezing temperatures—have made clearing efforts particularly difficult,” Bowser said in a January statement on the cleanup.
It is likely a record-breaking amount for the district to spend on snow removal and street cleanup after a snowstorm. In 2016, the district spent $55 million on snow removal after a January snowstorm, which broke the record at that time, according to the Washington Post.
The groundbreaking taxpayer numbers are bad news for the district government, as the slow cleanup had already received blowback from members of the Council of the District of Columbia.
Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George, one of the candidates running for mayor, detailed on social media in January how she believes she would better tackle the issue, asserting that “DC needs to be better prepared” and calling on the government to “ensure tax dollars are spent efficiently.”
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Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told the51st that government spending on the cleanup was obscene.
“Government officials have a responsibility to manage the treasury responsibly. It was clear to me there was not a plan for how to deal with a snowfall like that,” Mendelson told the outlet.
