Design and engineering firm Stantec is providing construction management services, engineering services during construction, and inspection services for a CSO storage tunnel with a pump station for the City of Lynchburg, Virginia. Construction on the project began recently.
The project marks a continuation of Stantec’s partnership with the City of Lynchburg in the city’s efforts to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSO) as climate change leads to more intense rain events and increased wet weather flow.
When complete, the $104 million (USD) CSO project, known as the Blackwater CSO Tunnel, will address a combined sewer capacity issue that has caused overflow into a local creek in a popular city park. With the new storage tunnel and pump station in place, overflow will move outside the park with less discharge frequency and volume. The nearly mile-long CSO tunnel will have a finished diameter of 12 feet. The tunnel will be located 70 to 120 ft below ground in rock, providing approximately 4.7 million gallons of storage capacity.
Stantec completed an expedited design for the tunnel and pump station in late 2023, after being selected in 2022 for a master services agreement with the city. The expedited design allowed sufficient construction time to meet the mandatory schedule of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding being used for the project.
“Stantec has played an essential role in helping us conceptualize and design the largest infrastructure project in Lynchburg’s history on an expedited schedule,” said Tim Mitchell, director of Lynchburg Water Resources. “This project is the culmination of over four decades of work and over $400 million in total investment to restore water quality in the streams in Lynchburg and the James River. Upon its completion, only a few relatively small CSO projects will remain. I appreciate the partnership with Stantec to develop solutions for our CSO program.”
Once completed, the tunnel will provide the city with a high level of control for CSO, achieving 98 percent of CSO reduction systemwide. This will significantly improve water quality in local waterways and public health along the trail. Additionally, the capacity improvement will provide the City with infrastructure for future urban development and growth.
“We’re eager to continue supporting the City of Lynchburg to complete its CSO program,” said Lin Liang, vice president and wet weather flow sector leader at Stantec. “I’m proud of our team’s capability to deliver a fast-paced design project like this. This is a complex project that requires creative thinking and ideas as well as industry-leading experience in deep rock tunnel and pump station design.”
The Blackwater CSO Tunnel project falls under the city’s CSO long-term control plan and consent order with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The city plans to leverage the ARPA grant and Virginia’s State Revolving Fund to complete its CSO Consent Order requirements in the next five years.
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