ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WDVM) — A $454 million project to clean Alexandria’s waterways may potentially get pricier.

The RiveRenew project is aimed at replacing Alexandria’s centuries-old piping to create cleaner waterways.

The adjustment for the sewer rate will cost the average residential customer about $4 per month for each of these increases, or about $50 per year.

AlexRenew is proposing a 6.9% increase in July 2021 and a 6.5 % increase in July 2022. However, the company says the increase is critical to executing the job correctly to prevent sewer overflow in the city.

“They are contributing by paying down the debt that we are incurring. They’re crucial to helping ensure that we are delivering the project and continuing to fund it so that it can be implemented and delivered by the state-mandated deadline,” said Caitlin Feehan, RiverRenew Program Director.