With minimal discussion on Saturday (June 13), Alexandria City Council voted to move forward with an “enhanced gravity storm sewer system” to combat flooding along the waterfront in Old Town.
The City Council action was taken four months after the National Park Service denied the city’s plan to build a pump station at Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street). The city’s previously approved proposal would have closed Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park from the fall of 2026 until the fall of 2028 to rebuild segments of the sea wall and to install the pump station to recirculate water in flood-prone areas back to the Potomac River. The denial by NPS forced the city to make “significant modifications” to the plan, project manager Matt Landis told Council.
“We pivoted to a much enhanced gravity storm sewer system, and still include the original bulkhead improvements to the same elevation,” Landis said. “In short, we’re meeting the same performance stormwater and riverine flood protection with a proposed pivot but with just different infrastructure.”
City Council approved the preferred alternative, which:
- Eliminates the requirement and scope to construct a pump station
- Includes upgrading and replacing portions of critical existing storm sewer system
- Replaces and raises critical sections of bulkhead and shoreline (to the maximum extent practicable and as affordable within authorized funding) to achieve riverine flood protection to elevation 6+00
- Restores and creates parks and public amenities in Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park
- Would see infrastructure improvements to Point Lumley Park and the bulkhead deferred
- Includes Lower King Street pedestrian improvements to the unit and 100 block of King Street and the intersection of King Street and Union Street.
So far, 30% of the project has been designed. With City Council’s approval, the project can advance the design to 70% and receive a guaranteed maximum price proposal, according to a city staff memo.
“We will have ongoing engagement,” Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said. “Not so much ‘which version do you prefer’ style engagement but awareness, signage, engagement with the business community as this project moves forward.”
Alexandria’s waterfront saw 227 flooding events at the Prince Street level from January to October 2025, compared to a 20-year average of 145 events, according to city data. Annual flood-related costs, including cleanup, sandbagging and lost business revenue, range from $400,000 to $800,000. Without city intervention, the city predicted there would be 353 annual flooding events at the Prince Street level by the year 2100.
The original pump station plan was controversial, with a Change.org petition generating more than 1,100 signatures in opposition.
