The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed last Tuesday (Aug. 25) to fast-track consideration of a new water tower serving the Seven Corners area.
Fairfax Water has proposed replacing the existing 72-year-old Willston tank with a significantly larger one on the grounds of Seven Corners Apartments at Patrick Henry Drive near the Fairfax-Arlington border.
When the new tank is operational, the old one will be removed. The result will be infrastructure capable of holding about one million gallons of water, about five times the amount of the existing tank.
The new tank will consist of a steel bowl with a diameter of 74 feet. It will sit atop a concrete pedestal rising 70 feet and spanning 40 feet in diameter.
To expedite the review process, county leaders voted unanimously to consider a site plan for the project concurrently with other zoning changes to be vetted in October by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.
Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez, whose district includes the water tank site, said considering all zoning changes simultaneously would benefit the community.
“The proposed tank will significantly improve service reliability within the existing distribution system, provide more consistent water pressure, and increase available fire flow for customers in Fairfax Water’s Willston Pressure Zone, which includes residents and businesses in Fairfax County, the city of Falls Church and Arlington County,” Jimenez told his fellow board members.
The matter had a degree of urgency, Jimenez said.
“The existing tank has reached the end of its useful life and is undersized to meet current and planned needs in the area,” Jimenez said. “It needs to be replaced as soon as reasonably possible.”
His board colleagues approved the request without comment.
Because it deals with a public facility, the proposal is moving through what county officials call a “2232 review.” Named after a section of the Code of Virginia, a 2232 review requires the Fairfax County Planning Commission to determine whether the project is compatible with the county’s comprehensive plan.
In addition to making that determination, planning commissioners will make recommendations to supervisors on Fairfax Water’s submitted site plan and zoning variances required for the project to move forward.
In June, Arlington County Board members approved a resolution in support of Fairfax Water’s proposal.
