water infrastructure

Vienna Town Council approves new budget with ‘modest’ property tax rate cut

Published May 19, 2026 at 3:00PM

The Vienna Town Council adopts a fiscal year 2027 budget presented by finance director Steven Barlow (courtesy Town of Vienna)

Vienna residents can expect to pay more in property taxes and water and sewer fees in the upcoming fiscal year, but their bills won’t be quite as high as they would’ve been under the town’s initially proposed budget.

The Vienna Town Council adopted a fiscal year 2027 budget yesterday that reduces the local real estate tax rate by a half-cent, from 19.5 cents to 19 cents per $100 of assessed value, while maintaining existing service and staffing levels, according to Director of Finance Steven Barlow.

News

Property tax, water and trash bills will increase under proposed Herndon budget

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 2, 2026 at 10:00AM

The Town of Herndon's logo on a trash bin (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Town of Herndon is planning to maintain its current tax rates in the new fiscal year, but residents should still brace for increases in their property tax, water and trash bills.

Town Manager Dan Hoffman officially submitted a proposed fiscal year 2027 budget to the Herndon Town Council yesterday (Wednesday) that holds local real estate, lodging and meals taxes at their existing rates of 27 cents per $100 of assessed value, 6% and 4.5%, respectively.

News

Great Falls boater sues over Potomac River sewage spill, while report finds possible leaks

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published March 10, 2026 at 3:00PM

A warning sign at the site of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

The fallout from the January sewer collapse that dumped over 200 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River continues to pile up, bringing a new lawsuit and a report that suggests the river might still be getting contaminated.

A Great Falls resident filed a class action lawsuit against DC Water on Friday (March 6) in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, calling for the utility to compensate himself and other individuals “whose property interests in and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River … have been impaired by [the] Defendant’s conduct.”

News

Va. still warning against recreation on Potomac River in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 6, 2026 at 8:30AM

Kayakers on Potomac River at Great Falls Park (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Though DC Water has lifted its advisory warning against recreational activities on the Potomac River, Virginia health officials are remaining cautious after millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the water earlier this year.

The Virginia Department of Health announced yesterday (Thursday) that it has lifted a recreational water advisory for the river from Chain Bridge (Glebe Road) in Arlington to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County, but it remains in place for a 4.7-mile stretch upstream from Chain Bridge to the American Legion Bridge (I-495) in Fairfax County.

News

Long-pending culvert construction will require Nutley Street closures in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 24, 2026 at 9:15AM

Construction is starting on a new stormwater culvert under Nutley Street near Marshall Road SW in Vienna (courtesy Town of Vienna)

After an extra one-day delay due to Sunday’s snowfall, the Town of Vienna will begin construction today (Tuesday) on a stormwater project that’s more than a decade in the making.

To address ongoing flooding challenges, the town is replacing an underground culvert along Nutley Street near Marshall Road SW, a process expected to unfold in five phases over nearly a year.

Countywide

Residents told to stop flushing wipes as Potomac River sewage cleanup continues

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 18, 2026 at 1:45PM

Crews are working on a bypass system to divert wastewater from the Potomac River after a sewer line collapse in Maryland (via DC Water)

Please stop flushing wipes down the toilet, even if they’re labeled “flushable,” Fairfax County said in a recent message to community members.

The county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services urged residents late last week to avoid flushing anything other than toilet paper after a mass of non-disposable wipes clogged a regional sewer pipeline, exacerbating overflows into the Potomac River.

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Scott’s Run Nature Preserve will close this spring for another sewer project

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 4, 2026 at 9:15AM

The Potomac River seen from Scott's Run Nature Preserve in McLean (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve will be off limits to visitors for a third consecutive spring to allow more sewer upgrades.

The park at 7400 Georgetown Pike in McLean is scheduled to close on Monday, Feb. 16 for an “urgent” project to rehabilitate a siphon facility that carries wastewater across the Potomac River to D.C. Water’s Potomac Interceptor in Maryland, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Countywide

Sewage spill in Potomac River not affecting Fairfax Water supply, utility says

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press

Published January 26, 2026 at 2:45PM

A warning sign at the site of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

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.

News

Fairfax Water looks to replace Seven Corners water tank with bigger model

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published December 15, 2025 at 9:15AM

Existing water tank on the Seven Corners Apartments property (via Google Maps)

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.

Countywide

Report flags rising risk of Potomac River water shortages

By Acacia James

Published December 9, 2025 at 10:00AM

Potomac River looks calm from Scott's Run Nature Preserve (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

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.