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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Seventy years ago today, Alexandria turned on its wastewater treatment plant for the first time.
Before July 27, 1956, the city's sewer network dumped waste directly into the Potomac River and its tributaries, causing harm to local communities and aquatic life. The Alexandria Sanitation Authority — now known as AlexRenew — was created in 1952 in response to that pollution and began operations four years later after construction was complete.
Today, the utility marks that anniversary at a milestone moment: just 26 days after dedicating RiverRenew, the largest infrastructure project in Alexandria's history, which came online July 1 and is now reducing combined sewer overflows into the Potomac from roughly 140 million gallons a year to under 17 million.
"Today is more than the operational completion of RiverRenew," AlexRenew board chair John Hill said at the July 1 dedication. "It denotes the beginning of a new era for the Potomac River, Hunting Creek and Hooffs Run."
Over seven decades, the population AlexRenew serves has grown from 150,000 to more than 320,000, and the plant's treatment capacity has more than doubled — from 18 million gallons per day to 38 million. The utility has undergone multiple rounds of upgrades to meet the Clean Water Act of 1972 and evolving Chesapeake Bay water quality regulations.
RiverRenew — a $500-plus million system built in roughly eight years, about half the time comparable projects typically take — includes a 2.2-mile underground tunnel running beneath Old Town, a 12-story underground pumping station and a new pipeline through Hooffs Run. The system is designed to cut overflow events from about 70 a year to fewer than four, with overflows into Hooffs Run expected to fall by 99%.
The system faced its largest test yet on the night of July 22, when a major storm hit Alexandria. AlexRenew reported Wednesday that RiverRenew prevented 11 million gallons of combined sewer overflows from entering the Potomac River and its tributaries — the largest single capture since the system came online July 1.
The anniversary also comes after a reminder that combined sewer overflows are only one piece of the water quality puzzle. On July 9, a physical blockage in a sewer line on Commonwealth Avenue caused a sanitary sewer overflow of an estimated 68,000 gallons, some of which reached Hooffs Run. That type of overflow — caused by a blocked pipe rather than rain overwhelming a shared sewer system — is not what RiverRenew was designed to prevent. AlexRenew notified the Alexandria Health Department and state environmental regulators and said normal flow was restored overnight.
AlexRenew CEO Justin Carl called the moment a turning point when he addressed the crowd at the July 1 ceremony. "Pure grit got us here," he said. "Everything we've done over these last eight years culminates in a brighter future for Alexandria."
AlexRenew says it has also begun additional plant upgrades to meet evolving regulatory requirements and improve infrastructure resilience.
Ryan Belmore
Ryan Belmore
