We at Potomac Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust and leading clean water advocate in the region, feel compelled to respond to this groundless accusation not just because it’s factually incorrect, but because it’s racist plain and simple.

Worse still, we’re seeing similarly degrading sentiments echoed on social media. These thinly veiled racist beliefs have no place in any serious public discourse.

We denounce Carlson’s claim that immigrants are making the Potomac River “dirtier” and hope to dispel his false and bigoted statements with these truths:

#1 The diverse communities that use the Potomac make our hometown river a beloved waterway.

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#2 The Potomac River has become cleaner over the last several decades, not dirtier.

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#3 Litter is an issue, but it’s not the most troubling source of water pollution.