The Potomac River, the iconic waterway that serves as a backdrop to countless images of D.C., tops the list of most endangered rivers in the country, according to a newly released report that cites the impacts of a recent sewage spill and data centers in the region.
The report published Tuesday by American Rivers, in conjunction with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network and Nature Forward conservation and environmental groups, cautioned that the river supplying drinking water for 5 million people in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. could be in danger of reaching “an inflection point.”
That warning comes in the wake of a mid-January leak of more than 240 million gallons of untreated sewage into the river that was caused by the collapse of an aging pipeline in Maryland.
The break of the Potomac Interceptor pipeline, which carries about 60 million gallons of raw sewage a day to a treatment plant in D.C., dumped untreated sewage into the river for several days, creating high levels of bacteria before the spill was fully contained and the pipeline’s emergency repairs were completed by March. Cleanup efforts are ongoing.
Even before the contamination, experts said, they were troubled by the strains put on the Potomac by the rapid development of data centers in the region, particularly in Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland. The facilities that make online activity possible use substantial amounts of water — often from public suppliers that draw from the Potomac and its tributaries — for cooling and operating their equipment.
Taking too much from the Potomac could result in changes to its water flows that could harm wildlife and exacerbate drought conditions that have occurred for the past three years and are expected to become worse this summer, environmentalists say.
Some of those experts said they’re frustrated that data centers are shielded by nondisclosure agreements with localities from sharing how much water they use for cooling, making those amounts harder regulate.
The Potomac watershed, which stretches 14,000 square miles and includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and D.C., is home to about 300 data centers, with dozens more planned as artificial intelligence, smart appliances and other technology become more popular.
“There’s a mass concentration of data centers in the Potomac watershed, which are thirsty entities and that sets it apart from any river in the world,” said Pat Calvert, Virginia conservation director for American Rivers. “The Potomac River system will be highly stressed,” he said, if there’s “unchecked growth of data centers” and not a full assessment of their consequences.
Officials with the Data Center Coalition, an industry group, said there’s often a misconception of how much water data centers use.
Each data center, depending in part on its size and the type of cooling system it has in place, uses differing amounts of water, said Nicole Riley, director of Virginia government affairs for group.
Many companies are developing “advanced solutions,” including AI-driven ones and on-site water recycling systems to use less water, she said.
In Loudoun County, home to the country’s largest concentration of data centers, Buddy Rizer — head of the county’s economic development office — said he couldn’t comment specifically on the American Rivers most endangered report because he had not seen it.
But, Rizer said in an email, the county has taken pains to ensure that the environmental impacts of data centers are minimal.
“Loudoun has always worked to manage our resources,” Rizer said. Local officials and departments, he said, “have worked with the data industry to provide alternative cooling methods and explore innovative solutions that support both operational efficiency and environmental stewardship.”
Betsy Nicholas, president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, said she’s worried about the growing number of data centers that get “hasty approvals” and not enough careful vetting and analysis by local and state officials for potential environmental effects.
“We’re not asking for a moratorium on data centers,” Nicholas said. “We just want it to slow down and to make sure there is a priority put on limiting the use — or knowing — the impact on the region’s drinking water resources.”
The American Rivers list of the most endangered rivers is now in its 41st year, receiving dozens of submissions from individuals and organizations. American Rivers said it considers whether to put a river on the list based on how its “health and well being” are affected by pollution or such developments as mining and data centers.
This year, the San Joaquin River in California was designated the second-most-endangered river. At number three came Boundary Waters in Minnesota, followed by the Lumber River in the Carolinas in the fourth-highest spot.
The last time the Potomac ranked first in the listing was 2012, when it was polluted from agricultural operations and urban runoff from streets and parking lots, according to the 2012 American Rivers report. Since then, a major effort was launched to clean it, advocates said, though the effects of that work have recently been negated.
Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin — a regional government agency — said he is concerned that the contamination and harm caused by data centers will put added pressure on the river.
“We saw a very, very old pipe break already and spill millions of gallons of sewage into the river, and that pipe could blow in other places,” Nardolilli said. “And there’s more and more, new uses pulling on our water with data centers coming in.”
Combined, “it’s creating a cascading effect,” he said, “and puts our water supply in a very, big vulnerable spot.”
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