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NoVA & DC Plumbing Map

Sheet 10 of 18 · City of Alexandria

Alexandria's West End: city rules away from Old Town

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In the West End the same City of Alexandria rules apply as in Old Town, but without a combined sewer, and the water belongs to Virginia American Water; confirm you are in the city at all.

Sheet revised November 3, 2026 · who makes this map

Duke Street with highway signs and multiple lanes near Interstate 395
Duke Street at Interstate 395, the road many West End addresses hang from.
Who does what here
WaterVirginia American Water for the main source
SewerCity sewers; owner's lateral by install date source
PermitsCity Permit Center, trade permits after building permit source
LicensingVirginia DPOR source
Lead pipesVirginia American Water customer service source

Are you in the city?

An Alexandria mailing address does not tell you the jurisdiction. Fairfax County has Alexandria addresses too, and the rules for each differ. Check the tax record or the water bill. If you are in Fairfax County, use the Mount Vernon sheet or Annandale and Springfield instead.

What changes away from the old core

The city says more than 90 percent of its land area has separate sanitary and storm systems; the combined system sits in Old Town. So the West End backups the city describes are the separate-system kind: stormwater entering the sanitary pipe through cracks in pipes and laterals, or through downspouts and stairwell drains. Its sewer renewal program moves through named areas in later phases. The city's page doesn't use the name West End, so check whether your street falls in one. Phase III covers the area between Russell Road, West Glebe Road, Cameron Mills Road and West Braddock Road, with design due to begin in summer 2026. Phase IV covers Braddock Heights, Park Fairfax and Arlandria, with inspections finished at the end of 2025 and review under way.

The BAR districts named in the city's materials are Old and Historic Alexandria and Parker-Gray. We found no West End district there, and that does not prove none exists. Ask the city.

The same lateral rule

Laterals installed before July 1, 1955: the owner maintains curb to property. Laterals installed on or after: the owner maintains building to main. Stormwater laterals: the owner's. The city sewer page is the authority here, not the water company. Virginia American Water's page says the customer owns the pipe from the property line to the building, but sewer is separate. See who owns which pipe.

Water

The water company's own page puts its main-to-curb-stop share in writing, and the same page bars downspouts and sump pumps from discharging into the sanitary sewer.

What the map can't tell you

  • Whether the address is inside the city or in Fairfax County.
  • Which renewal phase includes your street.
  • Which lateral rule applies to your line.
  • Whether any historic review applies.

Check your own address

  1. Read the jurisdiction line on your tax bill.
  2. Ask the city which sewer renewal phase includes your street.
  3. Check the city's sewer viewer for your pipe, then ask the sewer staff about it.
  4. Confirm your plumber's Virginia license; check a license shows how.
  5. Call 811 before anyone digs.

More on checking an address

Survey notes: sources for this page