Alexandria Embarks On Lofty Overflow Project

Because of aged sewers, a problem that cities across the country face, each time it rains in Old Town Alexandria, VA, raw sewage spews into the Potomac River to the tune of about 11.3 million gallons a year.

According to The Washington Post, under order from federal authorities, Alexandria is “launching an expensive effort to capture and contain overflows in three locations,” that should address most of the issues.

The plan, however, does not account for an overflow that dumps sewage directly into Oronoco Bay, The Washington Post reported. City officials have said that the Oronoco area was not included in a 2010 federal order to reduce pollution from sewage outflows.

They added that the land surrounding the site is scheduled for major redevelopment in the coming years that will include infrastructure improvements, according to The Washington Post.  

Critics of the plan have said that the approach will leave Oronoco Bay “clogged with algae and human waste.”

“If Alexandria wants to revitalize its waterfront and encourage recreation and tourism like Georgetown, they must eliminate the discharge,” Dean Naujoks, who works for the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a nonprofit group, told The Washington Post. “You can’t call yourself an eco-city and have it both ways.”

The sewage that enters the river can lead to excessive amounts E. coli and has been found in high levels along the part of the river that borders Alexandria, according to The Washington Post.

In order to be in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, in 2010 Alexandria placed a new limit on how much E. coli can come from the three sewer outflows just south of the Capital Beltway, The Washington Post reported.

It was this change that led to the update of the long-term control plan, which had been completed in August.

Alexandria’s combined stormwater and sewer system covers 540 acres in Alexandria, according to The Washington Post. “On dry days, both the runoff and the sewage flow through a single pipe to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.”

The plant treats both the runoff and the sewage until it is clean enough to release. However, The Washington Post reported that 40 to 70 times a year, “enough rain falls that the combined pipe is overwhelmed.” This forces the release of both rain runoff and untreated sewage into public waterways.

To address the sewage and runoff problem, Alexandria plans to construct a 1.6 million gallon storage tunnel and a 3 million gallon holding tank for the three outlets south of the Beltway, so that the overflow during and after rainstorms can be isolated and sent to the treatment plant.

According to The Washington Post, the project is expected to cost $125 million to $188 million and will be funded through bonds, “which will add $10 to $15 per month to local sewer bills that now average $48 per month.” In addition, the city will also seek money from Virginia.

In 2014, Gov. Terry McAuliffe had tried to award Alexandria $1 million for its combined-sewer project, but the House of Delegates removed it from the budget. The Washington Post reported that the Oronoco Bay site, is next to the now-closed Robinson Terminal North warehouse, which is slated to become a residential, retail, and office complex.

William Skrabak, Alexandria’s deputy director of environmental services, said the city is not ignoring the runoff, according to The Washington Post. “Any development projects will have to create separate wastewater and sewage systems,” green infrastructure where it’s cost-effective must also be added.

The Washington Post reported that officials plan to assess the impact of those changes after the construction at the other sites is finished, possibly in 2032. A tunnel and tank project for the Oronoco site, Skrabak said, would cost another $70 million to $100 million.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Stormwater Management Solutions Center.