water infrastructure | FFXnow

County plan to take McLean house for wastewater station surprises residents

Published October 15, 2024 at 2:30PM

Fairfax County is seeking to acquire a parcel at 1310 Scotts Run in McLean for its planned Tysons East wastewater pump station (via Fairfax County)

A project to build a wastewater pump station project for McLean and eastern Tysons got off to an inauspicious start last week when a lack of community outreach forced the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to postpone a scheduled public hearing.

The board authorized the hearing in September to get testimony on whether the county should exercise its eminent domain powers to acquire the land rights to a residential property at 1310 Scotts Run Road in McLean — the site chosen for the future pump station.

News

After tweaks, Idylwood water tank expansion clears hurdle

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 16, 2024 at 1:15PM

The proposed Poplar Heights water tank (via Fairfax 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).

News

Big water main break shuts down South George Mason Drive

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 7, 2024 at 9:45AM | Updated August 7, 2024 at 10:56AM

A water main break has closed northbound South George Mason Drive in Bailey's Crossroads (via FCPD/Twitter)

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.

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Fairfax County seeks to stifle bad smells from Herndon water plant

By James Jarvis

Published July 31, 2024 at 1:30PM

Getting tap water in a glass (via Swanky Fella on Unsplash)

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.

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Idylwood neighborhood objects to plans for new Fairfax Water tank

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 30, 2024 at 10:30AM

The proposed Poplar Heights water tank (via Fairfax Water)

Fairfax Water’s plan to update and expand the water tank that serves much of Idylwood and Pimmit Hills has run into strong opposition from many residents of the single-family neighborhood that surrounds the site.

Resident after resident testified at a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing last Wednesday (July 24) that replacing the existing 700,000-gallon Poplar Heights tank with the 1.25-million-gallon tank proposed by the water authority will irrevocably damage their community and quality of life.

Countywide

Fairfax Water: No quality concerns after use of Washington Aqueduct paused

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 5, 2024 at 11:45AM

Getting tap water in a glass (via Swanky Fella on Unsplash)

Fairfax Water customers weren’t affected by the recent Boil Water Advisory that went out to D.C. and Arlington County residents before Independence Day.

The utility, which serves almost 2 million people in Northern Virginia, suspended its use of the Washington Aqueduct early on Wednesday (July 3) before the advisory was issued later that day. Though D.C. and Arlington both lifted the advisory yesterday (Thursday), Fairfax Water says it hasn’t yet resumed getting water from the aqueduct.

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Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to reopen for Memorial Day weekend

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 23, 2024 at 1:30PM

Scott's Run Nature Preserve regulations (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve will reopen tomorrow (Friday), just in time for Memorial Day, after an extended emergency closure, the Fairfax County Park Authority announced today.

The popular McLean park has been closed since late March so that crews could remove an estimated 80 tons of sediment from wastewater pipes and make necessary repairs.

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Fairfax County seeks help relocating sewers affected by Franconia-Lorton rail project

By James Jarvis

Published May 13, 2024 at 2:30PM

Sanitary sewers that would be impacted by a third VRE rail line between Franconia and Lorton (via Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has asked CSX Transportation to share the load when it comes to moving sewer infrastructure affected by its plans for a third passenger rail line connecting Franconia and Lorton.

Last week, the board unanimously approved a letter to the North American rail company urging it to assist with relocating several sanitary sewers at risk of contamination during the construction of the Virginia Railway Express rail line.

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Pipe replacement will force one-day closure of Fox Mill Road in Herndon

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 28, 2024 at 10:15AM

Fox Mill Road in Herndon will be closed on April 1 (Image via VDOT).

Fox Mill Road will be closed at the beginning of next month to allow for a pipe replacement.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews are replacing a drainage pipe, prompting the closure between Pinecrest Road and John Milton Drive in Herndon on Monday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

News

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to close for emergency wastewater pipe cleaning

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 26, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated March 29, 2024 at 3:28PM

Repairs are needed to clear pipes that carry wastewater from McLean through Scott's Run Nature Preserve and across the Potomac River (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 3:30 p.m. on 3/29/2024) Clogged-up pipes will force Scott’s Run Nature Preserve to close for more than a month, starting later this week.

Contractors will begin work on the “emergency project” to clear and repair wastewater pipes in the McLean park this Thursday (March 28), the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services recently announced.