Cathy Flaherty via Facebook
Flooding in Alexandria on Sept. 10, 2020
In the past few years — and especially this summer — torrential downpours have strained Alexandria’s stormwater systems leading to major flooding in resident’s basements, businesses and streets.
Residents have had enough and City Council members are likely to address complaints at the upcoming City Council meeting.
Thursday evening’s storm, which dropped several inches of rain very quickly, led to a flood of social media posts showing resident’s waterlogged basements and destroyed cars. The problem is particularly pronounced along Alexandria’s waterways, including Holmes Run, Taylor Run, Old Town’s waterfront and in parts of Del Ray and Rosemont.
If your home or car flooded, city council members are asking for photos and videos. Residents should:
- Take photos of the damage to basement rooms and furnishings.
- Report the damage to your insurance company.
- Put damaged carpet, furniture, and other household items at the curb on your next trash collection day for free pickup by city crews if you normally receive City trash collection.
- Contact a commercial firm for cleanup of water damage, if necessary.
- After the rain stops, if sewage has come through a floor or plumbing drain, open the drain to allow as much water to drain out as possible. Use buckets, a sump pump, or other means to remove as much of the contaminated water as possible.
- Information about filing a claim with the city is available online or by calling 703-838-4549. All claims will be investigated.
- For health-related questions, contact the Alexandria Health Department, Environmental Health Division, at 703-838-4400, ext. 266.
For weeks, residents have been complaining that storm drains and pipes are filled with sediment that prevents the pipes from channeling water away from buildings, complaining that Transportation & Environmental Services isn’t working quickly enough to clear those.
Although new developments must provide their own stormwater infrastructure, that infrastructure often leads to pipes that are old and too small to handle the volume of water put into the system.
In a Facebook message, Mayor Justin Wilson pointed out that it will take millions and millions in investment to right-size the system for current needs as storms that as supposed to happen only once every 100 years start occurring annually.
In his September City Council Connection email newsletters, Wilson wrote:
“Today, Alexandria spends a significant amount of money on infrastructure designed to manage water. In April, the City Council approved a $2.1 billion, ten-year Capital Improvement Program. Of that, over $150 million is to address stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure. Alexandria Renew Enterprises, the City's sewer authority, plans another $593 million of capital investments over the next decade, primarily the RiverRenew project to remediate the Combined Sewer (sanitary and stormwater) system that serves Old Town. Together, nearly $750 million is planned for water investments. This spending dwarfs planned investments in schools, transportation and other major priorities.”
In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in the process of creating an update to the City's flood maps, which determine, in part, who should purchase flood insurance.
“Putting in place the infrastructure that can support a changing climate will be a significant undertaking for our community. It will involve a large commitment of new resources and possibly property impacts.”
