(C) Virginia Mercury This story was originally published by Virginia Mercury and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Legislation would give Alexandria an extra year to complete sewer upgrades [1] ['Charlie Paullin', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-23 Alexandria could get an extension of a state-imposed deadline to complete an overhaul of its combined sewer overflow renovation system, a project that aims to prevent pollution from entering the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Subcommittee of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee on Monday unanimously approved legislation from Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax, that would extend the deadline from 2025 to 2026 because of construction delays faced by wastewater treatment authority AlexRenew. The $615 million Alexandria project is 70% complete, Bulova said Monday, but the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine conflict have led to delays in the manufacturing and shipping of a tunnel boring machine needed for work. A shortage of concrete in Northern Virginia also led to a six-week delay, he said. About $394 million has been spent so far. “These are massive engineering projects,” Bulova said. Combined sewer overflow systems, or CSOs, are old water infrastructure systems that use a single pipe to treat both stormwater and wastewater, as opposed to modern systems that separate the two into different pipes. During heavy rainfall, CSOs can become overwhelmed and cause the discharge of wastewater into water bodies like the Potomac. In Virginia, Alexandria, Lynchburg and Richmond have all faced the need to fix or overhaul their combined sewer overflow systems. In 2017, legislation set a July 1, 2025 deadline for Alexandria to complete its work. In 2020, the General Assembly set a 2035 deadline for Richmond, although lawmakers have not yet settled on how much state funding they should give the city for the effort. Alexandria has been working to fix its system by creating a 2-mile conveyance tunnel 150 feet underground that will store excess stormwater and treat it before sending it out to the Potomac River. The project also includes new pumping stations and wastewater treatment plant upgrades. If Alexandria misses its deadline, AlexRenew could face about $32,000 in fines every day it falls short. The potential extension, which AlexRenew is asking to be for one year to account for any future delays, received the endorsement of the State Water Commission, which heard an update on the project in December. The Potomac Riverkeeper and Chesapeake Bay Foundation also have voiced support for the bill. Republican Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier, noted that the General Assembly also last year extended the deadline for farmers to voluntarily install best management practices to reduce pollution entering the Bay, pointing to pandemic-related supply chain issues. The bill will now go before the full House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. Companion legislation is being carried in the Senate. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2024/01/23/legislation-would-give-alexandria-an-extra-year-to-complete-sewer-upgrades/ Published and (C) by Virginia Mercury Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/virginiamercury/