Sanitation Authority Changes Name to Alexandria Renew Enterprises

The formally will become Alexandria Renew Enterprises on Saturday, during the city’s Earth Day celebration at Ben Brenman Park.

ASA cleans wastewater for nearly 350,000 people in the City of Alexandria and part of Fairfax County. Its goal when it began operating in 1956 was to “afford a nuisance-free effluent discharge” into Hunting Creek and the Potomac River.

Since then, the group said its mission has changed “to reflect greater public concerns regarding the environment, energy use, the region’s eco-system and natural resources—particularly clean water.”

ARE’s core mission will continue to be cleaning water to meet federal and state standards, but also to renew natural resources and make them available to a greater market. 

Environmental laws that did not exist during the first Earth Day in 1970 has spurred many changes in the organization, it said. Starting in 2011, most water treatment facilities in the region, including ASA, were required to remove 62 percent more nitrogen from treated wastewater. Meeting those standards requires designing, building, and installing modern equipment that will allow Alexandria Renew to meet the new regulations.

Part of the upgrade involves giving back to the community by turning unused industrial space off Eisenhower Avenue into green space, , and a pedestrian-bike path. Planning is scheduled for completion in 2016.