Site work for a water / sewer project in Alexandria, Virginia. Completed plans call for site work for a water / sewer project.

The Office of Environmental Quality (a division of Transportation & Environmental Services) continues to actively manage environmental impacts associated with the former 19th century City owned manufactured gas plant (used to provide gas to City street lights) that once operated at the corner of North Lee and Oronoco Streets. The plant historically supplied coal-derived manufactured gas for lighting Alexandria and subsequently left residue in the underlying soil and ground water that have been the ongoing source of oily substances evident beneath the observation deck at the end of Oronoco Street. As a part of the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) undertaken by the City and approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) through its Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP), the City constructed a bio-remediation system at the foot of Oronoco Street to eliminate the discharge of the oily substances into the Potomac River. This part of the project was completed in July 2013. Phase II of the project consists of (i) dredging and capping the impacted sediment in the Potomac River around the outfall area; and (ii) evaluating the area within the boundary of the VRP for health impacts. The dredging and capping project is aimed at mitigating the discharge of petroleum impacted groundwater from the former manufactured gas plant to the subsurface beyond the original site boundaries and into the Potomac River. Since the project was originally scoped and budgeted, the dredge and cap area has increased, as were the pipe relining plans which resulted in increased project costs. This project was successfully completed in April 2018. A verification sediment sampling was conducted in April 2019 that proved the effectiveness of this project. Another verification sediment sampling is planned for April 2020. The City also engaged another consultant to provide a comprehensive assessment of the project progress, and as a result, long term solutions aimed at accelerating the recovery of the contaminant (coal tar) are being proposed for study in FY 2021 (and implementation in FY 2022). During FY 2020, the City is also developing strategies to complete the VRP requirements that would include a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan and obtain the certificate of completion of this VRP from VDEQ. The City of Alexandria has contracted with Cardno Inc. to install Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) recovery wells along Oronoco Street between North Lee and North Union Streets. The purpose of this installation is to enhance the recovery of coal tar from beneath the street. The project will occur in two phases: PHASE I: Start Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Duration: One week PHASE II: Start Date: Mid-April 2021 Duration: One week