To the editor:

Building storm sewers is like buying insurance. You don’t think you need it until you really do. And it’s just about as glamorous, too.

Last month’s rainstorms proved why Alexandria is smart to invest in the insurance policy of a robust stormwater sewer system.

The neighborhood around lower Commonwealth Avenue has been the site of perennial stormwater flooding since the 1930s. Just four years ago, lower Commonwealth Avenue, and many other parts of Alexandria, were underwater – and on the local television news. The Flood Action Program was launched in the aftermath of the storms of 2020. In 2024, we are starting to see results.

In May, the city completed significant repairs and improvements to the culvert that carries the rain-swollen torrent of Hooff’s Run under the sidewalks, playgrounds and homes along lower Commonwealth Avenue. The repairs included bigger inlets, improved venting and access, combined with a program of routine maintenance and inspection.

Last month’s torrential rainstorm gives the first evidence that this investment is paying off. The storm on July 22 dropped 1.16 inches of rain in just 45 minutes. Before the repairs, that amount of rainfall would have filled the culvert and overflowed into the neighborhoods. Instead, water flowed out so quickly that there was 2 feet of “headroom” in the culvert.

Compare that to a comparable storm the year before, when the culvert came within inches of overflowing. On Aug. 14, 2023, a storm dropped 0.72 inches of rain in 45 minutes. The surging stormwater was 6 feet deep in the culvert with no “headroom” if the rain worsened.

The repairs and improvements to the Hooff’s Run culvert is just one project in the city-wide Flood Action Program. Financed by the stormwater fee, over a dozen quick-improvement projects have been completed in the most flood-prone parts of Alexandria. Also in the works are much larger, multi-year projects that will fundamentally expand Alexandria’s capacity to move stormwater as rains worsen and tides rise due to climate change.

To learn more and stay informed about the program, visit alexandriava.gov/ FloodAction

-John Hill,

Chair, Alexandria’s Stormwater Utility and Flood Mitigation

Advisory Committee