The DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) Board of Directors today approved an agreement that settles a suit lodged by the federal government. This settlement will allow WASA to implement a very extensive program that will dramatically reduce the overflows from the District’s combined sewer system that affect the District’s waterways, especially the Anacostia River.

WASA proposed the plan to the Environmental Protection Agency in July 2002, and the Department of Justice sued WASA and the District later that year. The substance of the plan was not in dispute. WASA officials insisted on provisions in the plan that would ensure significant and steady progress in addressing combined sewer overflows while making the plan more affordable for District residents.

“This settlement agreement removes a major obstacle to progress in improving our waterways and the quality of life for the District’s residents and visitors,” said Glenn Gerstell, the Chairman of the WASA Board of Directors at the time the Board voted to approve the agreement.

WASA has already begun work that will eliminate 40 percent of the overflows in just a few years, and this agreement makes it possible to complete the large scale infrastructure projects that will result, over time, in a 98 percent reduction in combined sewer overflows into the Anacostia and a 96 percent reduction overall in all the District’s receiving waters,” Gerstell continued.

“We had made considerable strides in controlling CSOs even before this agreement, already reducing them by 24 percent,” said Jerry N. Johnson, General Manager of WASA. “Now with this agreement, we will further reduce CSOs, helping to make the Anacostia, in particular, a cleaner river.”

Over time and with inflation, the projected $1.265 billion program is projected to cost approximately $1.9 billion with inflation. “We’ve been very concerned about the impact on our customers and will aggressively pursue grant funding,” said Johnson.

WASA began to address the issue of CSOs soon after its creation in 1997. In 2001, WASA committed $90 million, funded through its capital improvement program and a $50 million appropriation from the Federal Government, to the project.

Mayor Anthony Williams has advocated for Federal participation in the plan addressing combined sewer overflows. He and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, environmental advocates and others successfully lobbied to obtain the $50 million appropriation from the Federal Government and an additional $34 million since then.

WASA’s customers pay around $311 per year today for wastewater services. If no Federal funding is forthcoming, 20 years from now, customers will pay over $1,300 per year, an increase of over 300 percent.

WASA—with the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment facility—operates a wastewater collection system that is made up of “separate” sewers in which sewage and rainwater are collected separately and a “combined” system, built by the federal government that collects stormwater and sanitary wastewater in a single pipe.

When the capacity of a combined sewer is exceeded, it may overflow. The excess flow—a mixture of sewage and stormwater—is discharged into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, Rock Creek and other tributaries. Combined sewers account for one-third of the District’s sewer system but have not been built since the early 1900s.

This agreement allows WASA to proceed with its efforts at a time when many organizations are actively working to improve the Anacostia watershed and redevelop its potentially valuable waterfront. Mayor Williams is attempting to bring baseball back to the District with plans to build a new stadium near the Anacostia River.