Alexandria has been dumping 130 million gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater into the Potomac River every year for decades; more than 70 million gallons a year from one of its largest discharges. I live by Oronoco Bay which is where T.C. Williams High School kids row every day.
Year after year, the city failed to allocate funding to fix this problem. Residents of Alexandria and communities down river are now calling on Gov. Terry McAuliffe to sign into law a bill the Virginia General Assembly passed April 5 mandating Alexandria eliminate its discharging of raw sewage and stormwater within the next eight years. This is a very reasonable time frame, and it is clear Alexandria has been unwilling to fix this problem on its own. We must address this issue now, since the health and well being of everyone is foremost. The wealthiest city in Virginia should no longer be allowed to flush its raw sewage into the Nation's River and the Old Town waterfront where kids play, people swim, and our community congregates.
ECO-CITY Alexandria has asked the Governor to veto the bill, which would allow sewage dumping to continue indefinitely. Self-proclaimed environmentalist Del. Mark Levine has boasted publicly he turned 35 House Democrats to vote against the bill to end Alexandria's illegal sewage dumping. Thankfully, the bill passed anyway. Now, the self-proclaimed environmentalist Mayor Allison Silberberg has joined forces with Del. Mark Levine demanding the Governor veto the bill to allow endless sewage dumping.
We need to remedy this problem sooner than later. If you believe the public has a right to clean water and a healthy Potomac River, please call Gov. McAuliffe today at 804-786-2211. Ask him NOT to veto Alexandria's sewage bill! End Alexandria's sewage dumping to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay sooner than later!
Dr. Tescia Yonkers
Alexandria