Major Virginia river listed as ‘most endangered’ in nation

The Potomac River has been designated as the nation's 'most endangered' river by American Rivers, drawing urgent calls for action from clean water advocates in Virginia. The river faces critical threats, including a recent historic sewage line failure that released over 250 million gallons of untreated sewage, leading to bacteria levels 12,000 times above recreational limits. Adding to these concerns is the rapidly expanding presence of data centers in Northern Virginia, an area known as 'Data Center Alley'. Pat Calvert, Virginia director of conservation for American Rivers, highlighted the dual challenge, stating that the data centers' increasing water consumption threatens both the availability and quality of water in the Potomac watershed. The region is currently home to more than 300 data centers, with projections suggesting this number could swell to 1,000. Betsy Nicholas, president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, emphasized the collective impact, cautioning that unchecked water usage could jeopardize the river's viability as a drinking water source for the over 6 million people living within its basin.