'At a Crossroads: The Future of the City of Fairfax Water System'

Fairfax City is continuing to weigh a new offer from the state's largest water utility that would put the city out of the water business, but potentially save it upwards of $45 million in upgrades, and in a few years, cut down on residents' water bills, to.

The City issued a new brochure late last week — 'At a Crossroads: The Future of the City of Fairfax Water System' — to answer residents' questions about the sale ahead of a public input meeting March 21.

See a copy of the PDF at right.

Currently, Fairfax City operates its own water and sewer services serving over 8,000 city customers and 3,000 county customers.

Some of those customers are within city limits; others are in Loudoun County, where the city's water facilities, Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant and Beaverdam Creek Reservoir, are located.

If the city goes all in, selling its water system piping and property within the city limits and opting for full service with Fairfax Water, residents and business owners could start to see savings in three years, the city says.

In fiscal year 2012, Fairfax City's water system generated about 17 million in revenue, according to the adopted 2012 budget. It spent just about as much.

Mayor Scott Silverthorne told Patch late last month there "is a sense of civic pride and emotional attachment to the city maintaining its own water system," but there were also other issues it could no longer ignore.

Residents can review some of those issues, including the $45 million upgrade, in the brochure.

The city will have to make a decision by April 9. 

The public outreach process has been set as follows:

Public outreach meeting
7 pm March 21, Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center

City Council regular meeting and work session— public hearing
March 26, City Hall Annex (meeting begins at 7 pm; televised on Cityscreen-12)

Public outreach meeting
11 a.m. April 6, Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center

City Council regular meeting and work session — public hearing and consideration of approval of agreement framework
April 9, City Hall Annex (meeting begins at 7 pm; televised on Cityscreen-12)

See also:

Fairfax City Considers New Offer From Fairfax Water

Whitney Rhodes reported for this story.