Average water levels dropping in Virginia’s Potomac Aquifer

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has released a study revealing a recent decline in groundwater levels in the vast Potomac Aquifer, which serves eastern Virginia. Despite a general rise in levels since the 2008 recession, the overall average groundwater levels have been falling since 2021, a new and unexplained finding according to Brian Campbell, manager of the DEQ Groundwater Characterization and Monitoring Program. This trend follows decades of depletion due to industrial withdrawals, which led to the passage of the Groundwater Management Act in 1973 and tighter limits in 1992. State lawmakers passed a resolution (SJR 25) in 2024, prompting the DEQ study east of Interstate 95. While some speculate that data centers could be contributing to the downturn, DEQ clarifies that no data centers in the groundwater management areas currently hold permits to use groundwater for cooling. However, new legislation would require water providers to report monthly water usage by certain data centers. Efforts to address the decline include the Hampton Roads Sanitation District's (HRSD) Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) program. Since 2018, the SWIFT Research Center has been treating wastewater to drinking water standards and injecting it back into the Potomac Aquifer, having returned over a billion gallons to date. Jennifer Reitz, an HRSD environmental scientist, anticipates SWIFT will help stabilize the aquifer, maintain groundwater levels, and mitigate saltwater intrusion, ensuring long-term water reliability in the region. HRSD is upgrading a treatment plant in Newport News, VA, to further expand these injection efforts.