The DC Water Board of Directors recently approved the Authoritys second-largest contract to date, for the design and construction of the second portion of the massive tunnel system that will bring relief from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to the Anacostia River.

This work is part of the larger Clean Rivers Project, a $2.6 billion program to reduce combined-sewer runoff to the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and Rock Creek by 96 percent. The design builder of the $253.9 million proposed contract is a joint venture of Impregilo-Healy-Parsons.

"This decision by the Board of Directors sets in motion a very significant portion of the Clean Rivers Project," said DC Water Board Chairman Allen Y. Lew. "This metro-sized tunnel will store combined-sewer runoff during intense rainstorms to prevent CSOs to the Anacostia River, improving the health of this important District waterway. In the process, we are also contributing to regional economic growth and creating jobs.”

Named the Anacostia River Tunnel, this tunnel portion will be 23 feet in diameter, extend 12,500 linear feet and will cross under the Anacostia River. It begins at Poplar Point and ends near RFK Stadium. Construction will start at the north and work south, connecting to the Blue Plains Tunnel in 2017. The Design-Build contract also includes six shafts and three diversion structures needed as part of the system.

“We are pleased to work with Impregilo-Healy-Parsons Joint Venture,” said DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins. “In addition, DC Water has increased the number of design-build contracts in recent years to leverage the advantages of the process. Design-build projects save time because construction begins while design progresses through the latter stages. Collaboration, teamwork and communication are improved because DC Water is not placed in between a separate designer and builder.”

"We are excited to work with DC Water on such an important environmental project in our nations capital," said Jim McDonald, Project Director for Impregilo-Healy-Parsons Joint Venture. “We look forward to the successful delivery of this tunnel and its accompanying structures.”

The first tunnel portion of the Clean Rivers Project is already underway. Called the Blue Plains Tunnel, it begins at DC Waters Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant and heads north, where it will eventually meet the Anacostia River Tunnel. Eighty District residents are working for the contractors on the Blue Plains Tunnel.

To view "A Drops Life," DC Waters informational cartoon about the Clean Rivers Project, please visit http://bit.ly/adropslife. Additional information is available at http://www.dcwater.com/cleanrivers.