Alexandria’s 1800s-era combined sewer overflow system served Old Town, where stormwater and sanitary sewage flowed in the same pipe.<\/p>\n
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Underground pumping station keeps sewage from Potomac River in Alexandria<\/p>\n
A recently opened 12-story underground pumping station in Alexandria, Virginia, is helping solve a problem that has existed for more than 100 years.<\/p>\n
Alexandria\u2019s 1800s-era combined sewer overflow system served Old Town, where stormwater and sanitary sewage flowed in the same pipe.<\/p>\n
During heavy rains, when large amounts of runoff from streets entered the combined sewer system, the excess mixture resulted in untreated flows entering the Potomac River, Hunting Creek and Hoofs Run.<\/p>\n
Opened in July, AlexRenew\u2019s RiverRenew project is expected to prevent 120 million gallons of combined sewer overflows from polluting the Potomac and its tributaries each year.<\/p>\n
In the recently opened facility, \u201cDuring wet weather, when flow levels rise, it overflows into our new diversion chamber, rather than overflowing into the river,\u201d RiverRenew Program Manager Ryan Payne said. \u201cIt flows by gravity down a drop pipe and into our waterfront tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 130-foot-deep, 2.2-mile-long tunnel along the waterfront has the capacity to capture and hold stormwater in the midst of the storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the rain event is over, we screen out any remaining debris and the flows are pumped through our tunnel dewatering pumps, up to the surface, where they\u2019re treated at AlexRenew\u2019s wastewater treatment plant,\u201d which is adjacent, said Matt Robertson, spokesman for the company, during a Wednesday tour.<\/p>\n
Robertson said the new system provides flexibility in the midst of a downpour.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the wettest events in Alexandria, the wet weather pumping station gives us additional options for treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe could redirect flow to the waterfront tunnel for storage or we can redirect them to various places in our plant where those flows can be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2017, Virginia\u2019s General Assembly passed a law requiring Alexandria to solve its combined sewer overflow problem by 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a commitment to our community in 2017 to solve this long-standing environmental issue, and we\u2019ve worked tirelessly every day since to stand by it,\u201d General Manager and CEO Justin Carl said on July 1, when the project became fully operational.<\/p>\n