Water Pollution Control Plant : Water & Wastewater : Arlington, Virginia

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Water Pollution Control Plant

Located in South Arlington, the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) is a facility that treats 30 million gallons of wastewater each day from County residences and business, with nearly 20 percent of the plant's flow coming from neighboring localities such as Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. The plant's mission is to safely and economically process wastewater and hazardous waste materials to protect our environment, especially Four Mile Run, the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

WPCP Renovation

Due to a growing population in both Arlington's residential and business communities, there has been an added strain in recent years on the WPCP's aging facility that was originally built in the 1930s.

A major $568 million upgrade of the WPCP is nearly complete to meet new federal and state regulations.

Master Plan 2001

Arlington County formed a "Master Plan Team" in 2001 made up of staff and outside experts to address compliance with new federal and state regulations and other operational issues. The critical improvements outlined by the plan include:

Modernization of an aging infrastructure
Expansion to increase wastewater treatment capacity to 40 million gallons per day
Discharge of cleaner water to Four Mile Run, the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay
Minimize plant odors

Current Status

As of September 2011, the renovation at the WPCP is entering the last phase of construction:

Two equalization tanks help the plant manage wet weather flows.
Two new aeration tanks and clarifiers have been operating since 2009, increasing the capacity of the plant's biological treatment by 50 percent.
The new disinfection facility has been in operation since fall 2009, and the denitrifying filters were placed in service in February 2010.
A new backwash tank and clarifier was completed in fall 2010.
The perimeter fence was completed in winter 2010.
A back-up generator facility was constructed and completed in August 2011.
Pump stations are being refurbished and work was completed in October 2011.
The maintenance building upgrade started in June 2011 and is scheduled for completion in December 2012.
Landscaping improvements began in August 2011. The installation and planting of seed beds and perennials and the bioswale construction has resumed.
The fence enhancement project is in design. It is scheduled for completion in November 2013.
Site restoration and paving of the plant has been ongoing and will finish once all projects are complete.

Red lines denote work areas with pile driving. Green lines denote potential location for acoustic blankets. View an enlarged map.

View more photos of renovations >>

Maintenance Capital Projects

Two maintenance capital projects are scheduled to begin in the near future.

ASE line replacement is complete.
Operations Control Building HVAC replacement is nearing completion with systems start up expected to be completed by November 2012.

Wet Weather Filtration Facility

The Wet Weather Filtration Facility (WWFF) project is the next phase of construction beyond Master Plan 2001 (MP01). Construction of the concrete filter walls and channels continues. Installation of filter equipment is expected to begin in November 2012. The project is schedule for completion in fall 2013.

The WWFF project will renovate and upgrade the current Gravity Filter Building into a wet weather filtration facility. It will also:

Safeguard operations and improve the performance of the plant by reducing external bypasses beyond the WPCP MP01 design, and
Improve the reliability of the facility to meet the most stringent permit limits to date, including limits of 3 Mg/L of Total Nitrogen.

Construction Package 3 (CP-3) to rehabilitate 13 County pump and metering stations is currently underway. View a map of a temporary bike plan near the Gulf Branch pump station.