Maintenance on Major Sewer Line Comes with Some Noise

A message Tuesday afternoon from Alexandria Renew Enterprises:

Alexandria Renew Enterprises has recently received complaints about the important and necessary maintenance being performed on its Potomac Interceptor on Union Street in the Old Town area of the City.

Alexandria Renew Enterprises cleans the City’s dirty water that is pumped to the major intercepting sewer lines from the smaller sewer lines that directly connect to homes and that are owned and maintained by the City.

AlexRenew transforms an average of 35 million gallons of dirty water a day into clean water that is sent back into our watershed. At times, AlexRenew must perform maintenance on its major intercepting sewer lines to make sure all of the City’s dirty water remains “out of sight, out mind.”

Now is one of those times. An intercepting sewer line is like a superhighway for the City’s wastewater. These intercepting lines, and the pump stations located throughout the City, are responsible for getting all of the City’s dirty water to AlexRenew’s Eisenhower Avenue campus in the Carlyle area near Old Town in a safe, timely, and efficient manner.

Over time, things like grease, coffee grounds, egg shells, baby wipes, paper towels, diapers, and other items that shouldn’t be flushed down the drain end up in this network of pipes, making it difficult for the dirty water to get from your homes to AlexRenew’s campus.

The maintenance of the Potomac Interceptor includes vacuuming out the solid debris, cleaning the grease from the pipes, and inspecting everything to make sure the water continues to run smoothly for the next three to five years.

Unfortunately, this maintenance isn’t a quick fix, and it does produce some noise. The good news is that this work is almost done. In a few more weeks, the Potomac Interceptor will be fully inspected and cleaned.

Affected neighbors along Union Street will receive door hangers prior to the maintenance work being done in their area. AlexRenew wants to thank our neighbors for their understanding while this necessary work is completed. If there are any concerns or questions about the work AlexRenew is performing on the Potomac Interceptor, please contact Hans Bailey, AlexRenew’s customer service contact, at (703) 549-3381, extension 2206.