Thread by @rvah2o

Is it time for your yearly refresher on Richmond's Combined Sewer System?

https://twitter.com/rvah2o/status/1291393080449363968

If it is, maybe it's also time to make sure you get our email alerts when an overflow event occurs.

Insider tip: use all lowercase characters in your email address!

apps.richmondgov.com/applications/C…

If you haven’t read through our whole combined sewer system (or CSS) thread 🧵 (you really should—we can’t top it!) or checked out our CSS webpage yet (at rvah2o.org/combined-sewer…), or our StoryMap (at cor.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/i…), our most basic TL;DR version is coming up for you. 3/

This does not do the CSS justice, but to summarize an incredibly complex and old system: In one-third of Richmond (the orange ~12,000 acres), stormwater pipes connect with wastewater infrastructure and flow to the City’s wastewater treatment plant (noted as the blue pentagon). 4/

This works great during dry weather and light rain, and allows some stormwater to be treated and cleaned. That being said… 5/

During heavy rains the combined volume of stormwater and wastewater can overwhelm the system (our pipes, the wastewater treatment plant, and retention basins) and excess overflows, untreated, into waterways, including the James River. This is called a Combined Sewer Overflow. 6/

We send that aforementioned automated email alert when one occurs.

With consistent rain from #Elsa yesterday, an overflow event did occur in Richmond.

Don’t forget to sign up for those email alerts using all lowercase letters in your email address at apps.richmondgov.com/applications/C…! 7/

We’re curious… Would you like us to tell you here on Twitter every time an overflow event occurs too?

It *may* not be in real time if it’s during the night or when our team is disconnected from the screen. 8/

Our team has been hard at work for over 40 years improving this system (WAYYY before Richmond had a Stormwater Utility or our collaborative RVAH2O stakeholder group was formed!). We have:
- Upgraded the wastewater treatment plant to treat 140 million gallons during wet weather 9/

- Created storage! Shockoe Retention Basin on Chapel Island holds 50 million gallons of combined flow and the Hampton-McCloy Tunnel holds 7 million gallons
- Installed green infrastructure across Richmond
- Disconnected and separated 21 overflow locations (from 46 down to 25) 10/

Our. Work. Is. Not. Over.

In fact, it’s fast-tracked and expedited thanks to 2020’s Senate Bill 1064.

This requires us to first bring some interim solutions to life, then a long-term plan and course of action.

Love legal language? Check it out: lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp60… 11/

Is this new to you? It’s also in the news! Here’s an update from @RTDNEWS: richmond.com/news/state-and…

While reading, please remember that addressing this 150+ year old system from the 1800s takes incredible amounts of strategy, planning, funding, and support to do it right. 12/

If you’re a legal-language-lover, you will have seen that our Interim Plan was due to @VirginiaDEQ on July 1st.

We got it done, got it in, and want you to peruse our fine PDF! While we wait for our website to update and the document to upload, let’s review the basics. 13/

For the Interim Plan:
Construction has gotta start by 07.01.2022 (let the countdown begin!)
Construction has to be complete by 07.01.2027

We have identified 10 projects for the Interim Plan which will result in an annual overflow volume reduction of 182.3 million gallons. 14/

Here are those 10 projects coming to Richmond by July 2027:

(Please note that #9 is at both the Shockoe Retention Basin and the Hampton-McCloy Tunnel, where we’ll be updating technology to better and fully use our existing infrastructure.) 15/

Happy news (especially if you are craving more details in PDF format): Our website update came through! Here’s the report for the Interim Plan in all its glory: j3n7e4b9.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/upl… 16/

Let’s link the Interim Plan back to that timely @RTDNEWS article and headline. The 10 projects in the Interim Plan will cost a smidge over $33 million.

The Final Plan? The other $850 million.

✨ Clean water is worth it. ✨
✨ A healthy James River is worth it. ✨ 17/

✨ Bringing these upgrades to the communities most impacted by the CSS (Shockoe… Manchester… Richmond’s Northside… the East End…) is worth it. ✨
✨ Protecting the Chesapeake Bay (and all the beaches, recreation, and seafood you love) is worth it. ✨ 18/

✨ Creating better lives for those in Richmond and all of Central Virginia is worth it. ✨

Just because it’s worth it doesn’t mean we want to pass that cost on to Richmonders, which is why we have our fingers crossed for that $883 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding. 19/

With 23.2% of our Richmond family living below the poverty line, we are seeking this funding and support so sewer rates are reasonable and so Richmonders avoid an extraordinary economic burden for an effort that will benefit the entire region and all downstream communities. 20/

We hope you will cross your fingers alongside us as we seek funding for the Interim and Final Plans. 🤞

We would love it if you voiced your support too! 📣📢📞☎️📱✍️📝📬 21/

Some fast facts on the Final Plan, which is still under *very, very preliminary* development before we log-off (because, honestly, who is on Twitter after work on a Friday?).

The Final Plan is due to @VirginiaDEQ by July 1, 2024.

Construction must begin by July 1, 2025. 22/

Final Plan projects and their construction must be complete by July 1, 2035.

Buckle up and get ready! We’re kind of in those pre-planning stages for the Final Plan, figuring out how we’ll tackle this undertaking as a community together. 23/

You will hear from us (sometimes even in Twitter threads 🧵 less than 25 tweets 😂)! We’ll hear from you and, more importantly, hear you! We’ll gather in-person! We’ll have new webpages! We’ll have loads of PDFs!

Stay tuned for more! 24/

We are excited to address the CSS and the opportunities it creates alongside you. It’s going to be interesting and important work. And, most of all, well worth it.

In the meantime, have a great weekend y’all! 👋 25/25

@threadreaderapp unroll