After pool drownings of children 5 and under reached a five-year high last year in Virginia, state health officials are urging families to take a “safe swimming pledge” as pools open for the season.
In 2025, there were 12 accidental drownings of children aged 5 and under in Virginia — more than the nine reported over the prior three years: three in 2024, two in 2023 and four in 2022. Virginia reported 473 drownings in all bodies of water between 2020 and 2024.
As Alexandria prepares for a major waterfront festival next month, the Office of Historic Alexandria is seeking hundreds of volunteers to assist with four tall ship tours.
The city put out a call for volunteers to take shifts at the Sails on the Potomac waterfront festival from June 12-14, one of the city’s America250 events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A highlight of the three-day festival will be free timed tours of four tall ships — Swedish Navy warship replica Kalmar Nyckel, Royal Navy schooner replica Sultana, historic fishing vessel Gazela and Alexandria’s own Continental Navy ship replica Providence.
Alexandria leaders will install a memorial bench next month at Rivergate City Park honoring the 67 people who died in last year’s mid-air collision over the Potomac River.
The City, in partnership with U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), will install the memorial from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, June 1, in the northeastern area of the park at 2 Montgomery Street in Old Town North. The memorial includes the bench, newly planted trees and a plaque with the names of the 67 victims from American Airlines Flight 5342 and the PAT 25 U.S. Army helicopter.
The owner of the dilapidated former Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town is hosting a community meeting next month on mixed-use redevelopment plans for part of the site.
HRP Group‘s virtual community meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, May 4 from 6-7 p.m. Under discussion will be the special use permits for Block B and Block C (both submitted in July 2025), as well as open space along the waterfront and Norfolk Southern rail corridor.
The Alexandria Clerk’s Office is expanding its wedding offerings yet again.
After a successful run last fall with its costumed “Halloweddings,” Clerk of Court Greg Parks will officiate 18 weddings aboard the Tall Ship Providence on Friday, May 15, at Waterfront Park in Old Town.
A new kayak launch now open at Four Mile Run Park in Alexandria is one of 11 projects that earned a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award from Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
The Four Mile Run Conservancy, in partnership with the city, completed the public kayak and canoe launch with a 187-foot raised boardwalk ramp, 775-square-foot floating dock, a roller-entry launch, wheelchair transfer platform and 30-foot gangway. It is the city and region’s first ADA-accessible paddling access to the Potomac River.
Virginia’s recreational water advisory has been lifted for the remaining part of the Potomac River affected by the Jan. 19 sewage spill, the state’s health department announced today (Tuesday).
The Virginia Department of Health’s advisory is no longer in effect in the Potomac River between the Capital Beltway/American Legion Bridge and Route 120/ Chain Bridge. The advisory, first issued Feb. 13, had been partially lifted on March 5 between Route 120 Chain Bridge to Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County. The change is effective immediately.
There will be a town hall meeting next week to discuss January’s sewage spill in the Potomac River, Mayor Alyia Gaskins has announced.
On Jan. 19, a collapsed pipe caused hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater to flow into the Potomac, prompting the Virginia Department of Health to issue a recreational water advisory. That advisory was partially lifted earlier this month when VDH found that bacteria concentrations were “at levels acceptable for all recreational water use.”
The Virginia Department of Health has partially lifted its recreational water advisory for a portion of the Potomac River as repairs continue from January’s massive sewage spill.
The advisory, first issued Feb. 13, has now been lifted for a stretch of the river including Alexandria’s waterfront. The cleared area starts south at the Route 120 Chain Bridge and ends at the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County, according to a VDH announcement this afternoon (Thursday).
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.
The Virginia Department of Health is advising people to avoid contact with the Potomac River following a massive sewage pipe rupture last month.
Recreational activities like swimming and kayaking should be avoided out of caution to prevent illness, VDH said in a release yesterday.
