Alexandria Department Of Health

Regional officials briefed about ongoing response to Potomac River sewage spill

Published February 24, 2026 at 3:45PM

A sailboat on the Potomac River (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Regional officials were briefed yesterday (Monday) on continued repairs and efforts to mitigate health risks five weeks after a sewage pipe collapsed, releasing an estimated 243 million gallons of sewage into the Potomac River.

DC Water officials outlined steps it has taken since the Jan. 19 sewer pipe collapse, just east of the American Legion Bridge, during a virtual meeting with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments that included Vice Chair, Mayor Alyia Gaskins. The collapse happened in a section of the Potomac Interceptor, which carries about 60 million gallons of sewage daily from Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the towns of Vienna and Herndon, Dulles Airport and Montgomery County, Md.

New Health Department plan will seek to improve Alexandria’s mental wellness

By Katie Taranto

Published January 20, 2026 at 10:30AM

The entrance of the Alexandria Health Department (courtesy of the Alexandria Health Department)

Improving mental health across the city will be in focus in Alexandria’s next Community Health Improvement Plan.

Mental wellness is one of three topics that will be addressed in the city’s new CHIP, AHD announced last week. The topic was selected for further engagement after 47% of 2,020 respondents in the city’s 2025 Community Health Assessment survey selected “mental health” as their top community health issue.

Potential Measles exposures identified at Northern Virginia medical centers

By Ryan Belmore

Published April 20, 2025 at 9:21AM

Skin of a patient after three days with measles rash (via CDC)

The Alexandria Health Department (AHD) is notifying residents about potential measles exposures in northern Virginia after confirming the state’s first case of 2025. Health officials are currently working to identify people who may have been exposed to this highly contagious virus at two locations in mid-April.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has pinpointed possible exposure sites at Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. People who visited the Advanced Urgent Care at Kaiser Permanente Caton Hill Medical Center in Woodbridge on April 15 between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. might have been exposed.