Virginia regulators approved Alexandria's plan to upgrade its sewage system to end the problem of overflows into local waterways.
The Washington Post and WTOP-FM reported the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality signed off last week on the work plans.
The city's sewage system currently overflows dozens of times a year when it rains because it can't handle the capacity. The new work is mandated by a state law passed last year requiring a fix by 2025.
The city fought the measure, saying the timeline wasn't reasonable, though it now has a plan to comply.
Liliana Maldonado, the lead engineer and program director on the project for the city's sewer authority, told the newspaper the work should reduce the average number of yearly overflows from about 60 to fewer than four.
The projected cost is between $356 million and $534 million.
