A sewage spill in the Potomac River northwest of D.C. last week has not affected drinking water in Fairfax County, the local water utility says.
The spill occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, along Clara Barton Parkway, which hugs the northern edge of the Potomac River near Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. The spill was caused by a DC Water sewer pipe that collapsed late Monday, Jan. 19, shooting sewage out of the ground and into the river.
Fairfax Water has applied to replace an existing water tank in the Seven Corners Apartment complex (6122 Willston Drive).
The application, submitted on Nov. 24, requests that the county grant Fairfax Water the ability to replace a 75-year-old, 200,000-gallon water tank with a 1-million-gallon tank.
A new regional study warns that the D.C. area could face water shortages as early as 2030 if a severe drought hits.
The report, released by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) last Friday (Dec. 5), says shifting weather patterns and rising demand are putting increasing pressure on the region’s supply.
Northern Virginia’s wary embrace of data centers could have major long-term impacts on both water consumption and wastewater treatment across the region, the Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) says in its annual report for 2024.
The 134-page document offers a status update and recommendations on environmental issues, including land use, air and water quality, transportation, waste management, climate change and ecological conservation.
Fairfax Water has sent about 137,000 letters to customers to help determine whether their pipes might contain traces of lead.
The utility says its source water from the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir has no detectable lead and maintains it has “always been in compliance” with federal drinking water guidelines.
Officials at Fairfax Water are bracing for one-time and ongoing costs that could approach a half-billion dollars over the next decade to comply with new federal environmental regulations.
Unless workarounds are found, most of the costs of addressing the looming impact of chemicals known as PFAS will be borne by its customers, the agency’s head told the Board of Supervisors’ Environment Committee on Tuesday (Oct. 29).
Poplar Heights is officially getting a new water storage tank with a capacity of 1.25 million gallons, despite continued objections from many residents of the single-family Idylwood neighborhood.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct. 22) — with Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn absent — to approve Fairfax Water’s request for a special exception allowing the facility to replace an existing standpipe tank at 7407 Tower Street that can hold 700,000 gallons of water.
Fairfax Water still intends to build a bigger water tank in Poplar Heights, but the new facility might be less visible than the Idylwood neighborhood’s residents feared.
After being challenged at a lengthy public hearing in July, the water authority revised its lighting, landscaping and construction plans enough to win the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support for the project last Wednesday (Sept. 11).
Northbound South George Mason Drive in Bailey’s Crossroads has been closed for over 12 hours due to a major water main break.
The Fairfax County Police Department reported the break near 7313 South George Mason Drive near Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) in the Skyline neighborhood at 9:39 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday). Water can be seen gushing up from under the street in a video shared by the department.
Complaints from Herndon residents about a pungent odor from the James Corbalis Water Treatment Plant have led Fairfax County officials to consider diverting the wastewater into the sewer system.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman explained at a Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday) that the issue began several weeks ago when rising algae levels in the Potomac River led to more organic matter being discharged into a state-permitted tributary of Sugarland Run, resulting in the unpleasant odor.
