Alexandria will soon embark on a two-and-a-half-year-long sewer separation project to reduce flooding in the city’s Westover neighborhood.
The city says that the sanitary sewer network in Westover, including parts of Bashford Avenue, Powhatan Street, Second Street, Colonial Avenue and Vernon Street, can’t handle intense storms. On Thursday, July 10, the city will host a design information meeting on their solution — the $2.6 million Colonial Avenue Sanitary Sewer Separation Project.
“Members of the community will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback as City staff work towards final project design,” the city said in a release.
The meeting will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. at Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street). The meeting is also being held on Zoom.
According to the city:
The City tasked an engineering consultant to conduct drainage surveys, model storm and sanitary flows, identify capacity deficiencies, and propose solutions. The analysis indicates that the sanitary sewer networks associated with Westover lack adequate capacity to manage the intense storm events of recent years. Increased sewage backups and basement flooding are attributed to old infrastructure, the design criteria in place at the time of construction, and the impact of climate change. One of the proposed solutions involves separating the sanitary sewer from the combined sewer system and connecting it to a separate sanitary trunk sewer.
Virtual attendance via Zoom is also available. Registration is required. Please complete the following form to receive the meeting link and passcode: https://zoom.us/webinar/
Additional information about the project can be found on the project webpage: alexandriava.gov/go/5661.
For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Lydia Durand at [email protected] or call 703.746.4622, Virginia Relay 711.
If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you. Please email LanguageAccess@alexandriava.
According to the city:
The primary task is to disconnect the sanitary sewer along Colonial Avenue that flows to the manhole located near the intersection of Colonial Avenue and Vernon Street to redirect sanitary flows to the existing AlexRenew trunk sewer along N. Fayette Street. The new route will align with the existing rights-of-way. Additionally, the work will also include the installation of new manholes along N. Henry Street and First Street.
