National Park Service Rejects Alexandria’s Waterfront Park Pump Station

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The National Park Service (NPS) has denied the City of Alexandria’s request to construct a flood mitigation pump station in Waterfront Park, according to breaking news first reported Wednesday by the Alexandria Times.

In an article today by Alexandria Times Publisher Denise Dunbar, Mayor Alyia Gaskins confirmed in an emailed statement that the federal agency will not support the project as proposed.

“Yes, it is correct that the city has received a letter from NPS indicating a change in their position on the Deed Modification request from the city with respect to the Waterfront Flood Mitigation Pump Station,” Gaskins wrote to the Times. “This letter notifies the city that NPS will not support the changes necessary with respect to the height of the pump station and has determined that the pump station is an impermissible use in the park.”

Gaskins added that the decision contradicts earlier signals from the agency.

“This direction is counter to prior communications we have received from NPS, indicating that they were proceeding with and supportive of this request from the city,” she wrote. “Addressing flooding and improving the resilience of our waterfront remains a top priority for the city and we will continue engaging with staff and the community to find the best path forward.”

Why NPS Had the Final Say

The Waterfront Flood Mitigation Project requires federal approvals because portions of Waterfront Park are subject to deed restrictions administered by the National Park Service.

According to the City of Alexandria’s official project documentation, the pump station proposal required:

• A Deed Modification to adjust height restrictions within the park

• A Bed of River Permit for waterfront infrastructure work

Both actions fall under federal oversight and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires environmental review before federal decisions are made.

Mayor Gaskins’ statement confirms that NPS declined to support the deed modification necessary to accommodate the proposed height of the pump station, calling it an “impermissible use.”

Decades of Flooding Prompted the Waterfront Pump Station Plan

The pump station was intended as a long-term solution to chronic flooding from the Potomac River affecting lower King Street, Strand Street, and surrounding blocks in Old Town.

The original design, first widely publicized in 2023, included a two-story mechanical structure located in the center of Waterfront Park — a proposal that generated significant community opposition.

ALXNow provided extensive coverage of the evolving design, including published renderings showing the scale and placement of the facility within the park. The outlet later reported that city staff reduced the footprint of the pump station in 2025 following resident concerns about the pump station’s visual impact and loss of open space.

Opponents argued the structure would:

• Compromise one of Alexandria’s most iconic public spaces

• Harm tourism and waterfront views

• Reduce usable parkland

What about the Alternative Site Across the Street

Citizen activists developed and promoted an alternative location inside a vacant office building at 1 Prince Street, just west of the park.

“They can put it right across the street,” a Quay Street resident who did not want to be identified told Zebra. “I don’t know why they want to mess up the gorgeous waterfront they spent so long trying to make beautiful.”

In September 2025, Mayor Gaskins announced at a City Council meeting that the city would pause the Waterfront Park proposal to conduct a detailed study of the 1 Prince Street alternative — a move also reported by ALXNow.

The city’s Waterfront Commission twice urged City Manager Jim Parajon to explore that alternate location.

According to reporting in the Alexandria Times, resident economists also released a December 2025 study projecting a potential $50 million loss in long-term tourism and business revenue if the pump station were built in Waterfront Park.

Flooding Remains a Real Threat

While the park location may now be effectively blocked under current federal conditions, the underlying problem remains.

Alexandria’s waterfront has experienced increasing nuisance flooding in recent decades due to sea-level rise, storm surge, and more intense rainfall. The Waterfront Flood Mitigation Initiative was designed as a multi-phase strategy to address those risks through infrastructure upgrades, bulkhead improvements, and mechanical pumping capacity.

Mayor Gaskins emphasized that resilience efforts will continue.

“Addressing flooding and improving the resilience of our waterfront remains a top priority,” she told the Alexandria Times.

What Happens Next?

With NPS determining that the pump station constitutes an impermissible use under current deed restrictions, the Waterfront Park option appears stalled unless federal conditions change.

The 1 Prince Street alternative — already under study — may now become the city’s primary focus.

Other possible next steps could include:

• Redesigning the pump station to comply with federal restrictions

• Advancing the Prince Street location

• Exploring distributed flood mitigation approaches

• Renewed federal negotiations

For now, the federal denial marks a major turning point in one of Alexandria’s most closely watched infrastructure debates in years.

Credit for breaking the news belongs to the Alexandria Times. Broader design evolution, renderings, and alternative site reporting were covered extensively by ALXNow over the past two years.

The Zebra will continue following developments as the city determines its next move.