Courtesy of AlexRenew.
Karen Pallansch
As CEO of Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew), Karen Pallansch knows more about Alexandria’s waste water system than just about anybody.
The independent public wastewater authority serves more than 300,000 people in Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County. Its customers use about 35 million gallons of water daily, nearly 13 billion gallons of water a year — enough to cover all of Alexandria to a depth of four feet. Dirty water from Alexandria area homes and businesses travels to AlexRenew, which cleans the water and returns it to the Potomac River via Hunting Creek.
The 24/7 operation employs about 100 waste-water professionals dedicated to protecting public and environmental health. Between now and 2025, AlexRenew has a massive project on its hands: working with the City of Alexandria to remediate the sewer system so it can treat water that now comes out “out-falls” into the Potomac River. The current capital cost estimates for the RiverRenew project is estimated between $370 million and $555 million.
Alexandria isn’t alone in its need to fix a sewer system that dates to the 1800s. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 772 cities in the United States have combined sewer systems, including the District of Columbia, which is implementing a similar program to address the issue.
Pallansch, a Philadelphia-area native, was the first in her family to attend college and has been in the water utility industry for 30 years — 25 of those with AlexRenew. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S. in chemical engineering) and Texas A&M University in Texarkana (M.S. in Business Management).
Her water utility career started in 1989 at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as a Senior Environmental Engineer in their Northern Virginia regional office, implementing the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act and state Water Control Law, and leading infrastructure construction inspection and funding management. After the DEQ, she moved to the Alexandria Sanitation Authority — now Alexandria Renew Enterprises — as a staff engineer, and will be celebrating 25 years at AlexRenew this year. In 2005, the citizen-led AlexRenew Board of Directors named her Chief Executive Officer.
Alexandria Living Magazine talked to Pallansch about the project, her background and more.
What got you interested in engineering?
I always loved making a difference, seeing an issue differently than others and finding a meaningful and empathetic solution that served everyone. Being the first in my family to attend college, I had no mentor or guidance through that pro-cess. I landed in engineering based on my understanding that engineers could pretty much find any area that needed to be fixed, which meant that engineers quietly served to make our communities and our lives just a little better every day. I had no idea what a great choice that would be for me. Today, I remain passionate about leading our team, learning and solving problems in ways that have a positive impact on our community and its waterways.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in an industrial town outside of Philadelphia. There were a variety of industries, from auto parts to tire building to Mrs. Smith’s Pie Company to textile mills, all of which were dependent upon the Schuylkill River for the water needed for make their products. Often, however, the Schuylkill showed signs of stress from the variety of users of the river. Sometimes, the river was denim blue or yellow or red, depending on the dyes used that week at the mill. Today, with the departure or closure of many of the industries and new and improved water treatment processes, the river is amazing in its beauty, and a natural connection for people in the community.
AlexRenew is working with the City of Alexandria to remediate the sewer system. Can you give our readers an idea of the scope of the project?
Alexandria has what’s called a combined sewer system, largely centralized in Old Town. In a combined sewer system, only one kind of pipe is designated for transporting both sewage and rainwater. When it’s not raining, these pipes trans-port sewage for treatment at AlexRenew. On rainy days, the capacity of the combined sewer pipes is often exceeded. Instead of being transported and treated at AlexRenew, sewage mixed with rainwater overflows into our waterways via four discharge points, or “outfalls.”
These discharges pollute our waterways with bacteria and trash, posing health risks to residents and wildlife. In April 2017, the Virginia General Assembly passed a new law requiring the remediation of these outfalls by July 1, 2025. The program to remediate the outfalls and capture the discharges is called RiverRenew. RiverRenew includes the construction of a tunnel system that will connect to the four combined sewer outfalls, capture the discharges, and transport the sewage/rainwater mixture to AlexRenew, where it will be cleaned and returned to the Potomac River. The tunnel system includes:
- A two-mile-long, 100-foot-deep, 12-foot-diameter tunnel;
- Sewer infrastructure constructed at the existing outfalls to connect the existing combined sewers to the deep tunnel, referred to as “diversion facilities;”
- A 0.5-mile-long sewer; and
- Upgrades to the processes for debris and bacteria removal at AlexRenew.
What’s the time frame for the project?
Currently, RiverRenew is in its planning, permitting and design phase. We are required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, to construct the tunnel system. This process requires the evaluation of various routes and locations of the pro-posed tunnel system and the analysis of potential impacts to the community, environment and historic resources. Due to the accelerated time frame imposed by the Virginia law, we’re currently working through this process as well as conducting field investigations and advancing designs.
Construction to upgrade AlexRenew’s treatment processes so that our facility can treat the additional dirty water we will be receiving is anticipated to begin as early as July 2019. The tunnel system and associated construction in the Alexandria community will start in 2021 and last through 2025. The Virginia law requires the completion of the program by July 1, 2025.
Will the community be involved somehow?
Definitely. RiverRenew has recently established an active and informed Stakeholder Advisory Group that will provide diverse perspectives throughout the various phases of the program. The group is tasked with reviewing and monitoring program progress, serving as spokespeople for RiverRenew, receiving input from the public, and providing recommendations to mitigate community impacts. The group, comprised of 13 Alexandria community representatives, meets monthly (this started in February 2019) and is continuing through mid-2020.
In addition to the Stakeholder Advisory Group, RiverRenew kicked off an extensive community education and collaboration program in July 2018. Our efforts initially focused on civic and homeowners’ associations to provide an overview of the program. In September 2018, a series of public Community Listening Sessions were conducted to update the community on the proposed tunnel routes and facility locations. The sessions were focused on obtaining the community’s input on the proposed alternatives to support the NEPA process mentioned above, and to help optimize the design while minimizing community impacts.
An additional round of Community Listening Sessions will be held in late spring 2019, following a decision on the final route of the tunnel system.
RiverRenew is launching an e-newsletter in the next few months that will high-light the latest program updates, events, and give community members an inside look at the program. (You can sign up online at riverrenew.com/contact-us.) We are also looking to engage local schools to support STEM education and generate an interest in water quality and the environment.
What will the cost be and where will the funding come from?
Current capital cost estimates for the program range from $370 million to $555 million. This estimated range is based on the current level of design, about 10 percent, and will continue to narrow as design progresses. Funding for RiverRenew will be largely borne by ratepayers in Alexandria through sewer bill increases. AlexRenew and the City of Alexandria are currently working with the Governor’s office to identify potential state grant funding for the program and will continue to look for additional grants to offset the costs of this mega project.
Will the work be disruptive to streets or any infrastructure while it’s being built?
Construction to connect the existing combined sewers to the tunnel system will cause disruptions near the existing outfalls. At these sites, new sewer structures will be built to convey millions of gallons of sewage mixed with rainwater into the tunnel system. It is anticipated that there will be traffic disruptions, noise and vibrations, soil disturbances, utility disruptions, dust, and emissions during construction of these structures. Once construction is complete, the new structures will largely be below-ground.
The deep tunnel is proposed to be constructed using a state-of-the-art tunnel boring machine, or TBM. The TBM can accomplish the construction of a long tunnel without digging up major portions of the city. The TBM will dig out the soil deep below ground and install a new tunnel in the void that’s created, remove soil through the newly created tunnel, then lift it to the surface via an elevator.
What would you advise young people interested in engineering?
I would tell them to pursue their passion by getting involved in STEM education programs at school, More importantly, I would tell them to make sure they also engage in a variety of learning, including the arts, music and other creative passions. Be part of organizations that promote or foster public speaking. Get involved in your local community to understand how local regulations and policies work so that you better understand how to achieve your outcomes if you have to design a project that impacts public areas in your local community. I find that the best engineers are those with incredibly broad and diverse backgrounds.
