Countywide

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.


News

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

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 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

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.


News

One portion of a stream restoration project running through southeastern Fairfax County is now underway, affecting operations at the Greendale Golf Course (6700 Telegraph Road) in Rose Hill until spring 2027.

Launched yesterday (Monday), the Dogue Creek Stream Restoration Project has been years in the making and will temporarily close hole 5 until March 2026, hole 6 until March 2027 and transition hole 7 from a par 5 to a par 3 until March 2026. Players are also asked not to retrieve golf balls that land in construction zones.


News

The risk of overflowing wastewater mucking up post office operations in Merrifield should be alleviated sometime this fall.

That’s when the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) anticipates completing a project to upsize the sewer pipes near the Mosaic District.


News

A new set of signs will celebrate famed local land surveyor George Washington and one of his most notable accomplishments: the creation of the Patowmack Canal.

The new signs will be unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday, July 5 at Seneca Regional Park (201 Seneca Road) in Great Falls.


News

Starting next week, a portion of the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail near Newington will be closed as part of a major wastewater rehabilitation project from Fairfax County.

The Fairfax County Park Authority said a portion of the trail in Pohick Stream Valley Park will be closed starting Monday, March 17, between Cliff Forest Drive and Wadebrook Terrace.


News

Fairfax County is making headway in its push for the land rights needed to allow construction of a new sewer line in western Tysons.

In the past month, county staff have secured deals for five additional properties west of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), Tajera DeSena, a senior right of way agent for the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Feb. 18).


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