Potomac Riverkeeper Inc.

Since 2017, we have been applying the pressure to ensure the city of Alexandria updated their antiquated sewer systems so everyone can have access to a clean and accessible Potomac River. PRKN submitted formal comments to Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to hold Alexandria accountable for its sewage pollution of the Potomac River. The city had a discharge point near Old Town which was dumping roughly 70 million gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater into the river every year. An analysis of our water quality testing results done at Oronoco Bay in Alexandria throughout the years revealed that 51% of the City’s samples showed fecal bacteria at unsafe levels in the river, rendering the Potomac frequently unsafe for human contact. In April 2017, Governor McAuliffe signed a bill into law requiring the city to update its outdated sewer infrastructure by 2025 to end the city’s 200 year history of raw sewage dumping. In April of 2024, 7 years later, AlexRenew held an open house for their new storage tunnels, RiverRenew, that is estimated to cut combined sewer overflow events from 70 events a year to less than 4! This is a huge success for PRKN and communities who depend on the river for drinking water and recreation!