With another flash flood watch underway, rain in the forecast and the height of hurricane season ahead, residents are keeping a wary eye on the sky after another "once-in-a-decade storm" ignored the calendar and dumped several inches of rain in a matter of hours last weekend.
Just a day before the latest round of storms, city officials announced they will begin accepting applications for a new Flood Mitigation Pilot Grant Program, which will give property owners limited matching reimbursement grants for installing flood mitigation measures on properties affected by flooding since 2019.
While the cash may help homeowners recover from the financial drain caused by flooding, residents are emotionally tapped.
"Like many of you, I feel battered and bruised from the past few days," wrote resident Katie Waynick in an email to residents. Waynick is the founder of Drain Alexandria, a website and newsletter focused on helping residents understand and prevent flooding in their homes.
Waynick, like other residents, has put a huge amount of effort and resources into protecting her home from floods. Since her first local flood experience in 2019, Waynick and her husband have spent more than $50,000 on flood repair, mitigation, and prevention, including the installation (and subsequent repair) of a backflow preventer, full interior French drain, enlarged sump pump, and a new sewer line.
This week, Waynick received many messages, photos and stories from residents who were assessing damage.
Even with more rain in the forecast, residents and city officials are continuing to push ahead on longer-term plans to reduce flooding.
Earlier this year, City of Alexandria officials launched Flood Action Alexandria, designed to help mitigate flooding issues caused by the increased frequency of intense storm events in Alexandria.
"This comprehensive program expedites infrastructure improvements, including 11 high-priority capital improvement projects, neighborhood spot improvement projects, and the Sanitary Sewer Asset Renewal Program; expands flood early warning systems and signage; implements a Flood Mitigation Pilot Grant Program to provide matching grants to property owners who install flood-proofing measures; increases maintenance capacity; and enhances community outreach and engagement, including monthly newsletters," City officials have explained.
"Since City Council’s approval of a new $197 million 10-year stormwater capacity and spot improvement capital program (with $136 million planned for the next five years) in May, City Council has already expanded that program in the next few years by $5.8 million using newly available American Rescue Plan Act funding."
Earlier this summer, due in part to lobbying by residents, City Council agreed to use a portion of the city's newly available American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for stormwater improvement, including new pipes and drainage improvements.
While it's not possible to get shovels in the ground tomorrow (as studies, assessments and design phases need to happen first), the ARPA funding will help move projects forward more quickly. Waynick said she hopes the next tranche of ARPA funding can be used, in part, to jump start studies and other pre-shovel work on future flood-prevention projects.
In addition, city staff are continuing to go through the Sanitary Sewer Asset Renewal Program, which includes inspection and rehabilitation of City-owned sanitary sewers, lateral sewers, and manholes. Inspections started in March of this year and will continue through the fall and winter.
Repairs are continuing throughout the city, and more than a dozen storm structures have been repaired, including a particularly important one on Janney's Lane.
For early warning, city staff has installed new rain gauges and stream gauges at a variety of locations, including local schools and parks.
For Residents: Education and Involvement
One of the most important things residents can do is educate themselves on the infrastructure around their house, in their neighborhood and across the city, Waynick said.
Transportation & Environmental Services staff are asking for feedback on the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan. The 130-page plan is designed to "provide the City residents with information about its sanitary sewer assets, existing infrastructure needs and future needs to accommodate future growth. The plan also details the City’s strategy for reducing the potential for sanitary sewer backups that can occur because of extreme wet weather and flooding events. Finally, the plan provides a review of its sanitary sewer fees and offers recommendations for any fee changes." Visit alexandriava.gov/Sewers to review the plan and provide feedback.
Waynick said it "isn't exactly riveting reading," but the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan helps provide residents with a more complete picture of what the city's infrastructure looks like and where underfunding and deferred maintenance have taken place. Some areas of Alexandria start to struggle when rain falls at a rate of more than half-an-inch per hour, and flooding and infrastructure issues are not just a problem in select neighborhoods.
About 20% of the City of Alexandria is mapped as floodplain. The appeals process for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain maps for Alexandria closes on Oct. 20. Residents should visit alexandriava.gov/FloodMap for more information and to see if their property is on the map (or if they think it should be there).
In addition, Alexandria Renew Enterprises is continuing on its massive RiverRenew project. Alexandria is one of the hundreds of cities nationwide with a combined sewer system, and the RiverRenew project is designed to significantly reduce the pollution that the system can cause. The project, estimated at more than $600 million, includes multiple new tunnels and pumping stations for wastewater. Residents can learn more at riverrenew.com.
While RiverRenew is primarily a pollution-control project, it is expected to help alleviate some of the flooding that can occur during summer thunderstorms and other heavy rain events.
