Our plant is an Advanced Waste Treatment (AWT) facility with a design capacity of 54 million gallons per day (MGD). It is located on a 30-acre site on the north bank of Hunting Creek near its junction with the Potomac River. We provide sewage treatment for 350,000 people in a service area of 51 square miles, which includes the City of Alexandria and portions of Fairfax County. The Authority also owns and operates three pump stations and three interceptor sewers.
Current processes include preliminary, primary, and secondary treatments followed by chemical addition (metal salt) for phosphorus removal, sedimentation, filtration, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and post aeration. Solids processing includes gravity thickening of primary and tertiary sludges, mechanical thickening of waste activated sludge, centrifuge dewatering, prepasteurization, anaerobic digestion and land application. |
In 2006, we completed a significant upgrade to our facility to meet the water quality requirements of the Potomac Embayment Standards and begin the quest to improve the Chesapeake Bay.
The program, which was started in late 1998, includes the following enhancements: |
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- Protects the Bay and Potomac River by reducing nutrient levels (nitrogen and phosphorus) in the plant effluent.
- Reduces potential odor impact on adjacent neighbors by collecting and treating odorous air in a state-of-the-art odor control system.
- Produces high quality reclaimed water utilizing advanced treatment, which includes chemical addition for polishing, plate settlers and filters.
- Uses ultraviolet light (UV) for disinfection of final effluent, thus eliminating the need for chlorine.
- Produces exceptional quality Class A biosolids that have beneficial use in land-application.
We are now required to do even more to help Save the Bay. Through 2015, ASA will upgrade its facilities to remove nitrogen to limit of technology requirements. Stay tuned for more details. |
