After 16 months and $615 of tunneling, Alexandria, Virginia is nearly finished digging a 2.2-mile-long tunnel beneath the city and the Potomac River that will fix its sewage overflow problem.

After over a year of tunneling, Alexandria, Virginia’s efforts to reduce sewage overflows will soon bear fruit, reports Sarah Vogelsong for Inside Climate News. Officials hope the opening of a new 2.2-mile-long sewage storage tunnel beneath Alexandria and the Potomac River will solve the city’s sewage overflow problems during heavy storms, which they anticipate will only get more severe and frequent with climate change.
At issue is the city’s older combined sewer system infrastructure, which allows sewage and runoff from storms to flow through the same pipes; newer systems typically aren’t typically constructed this way. The article explains the problem: “In dry weather, all the flows are directed to wastewater plants for treatment. But heavy rainstorms can overwhelm the system, causing overflows of stormwater as well as sewage into rivers and creeks. That pollution poses a threat to both human health and aquatic life, frequently spurring cities to shut down or restrict access to their waterways.” Alexandria and the state capital, Richmond, both have this kind of system and have been required by the state legislature to address the overflows. But they aren’t alone. Another 700 municipalities across the United States, including New York City and Chicago, have combined sewer systems and deal with similar issues, though that number is down from 1,100 in 1994, Vogelsong writes.
“Curbing the pollution that stems from these systems is a daunting task, one that takes not only engineering on a massive scale, but money in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. In Virginia, Alexandria’s project comes with a price tag of $615 million. Richmond has spent roughly $300 million over the past 35 years and expects to pony up an additional $600 million to meet the state’s 2035 deadline,” the article reads. Vogelsong also reports that the issue might get increased attention when a new legal case brought by San Francisco against the EPA is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court in its next term. It will be one of the first major environmental cases since the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine, an action that stripped federal agencies of the final say on ambiguous policies contained within federal legislation like the Clean Water Act.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie