Proposed Water Department Closure: Financially 'Attractive,' but Concerns Linger

The Fairfax City Council hosted another in a series of planned public meetings on a proposal to shutter the city’s water department Tuesday evening.

The city is considering a proposal to purchase water from Fairfax Water, the state's largest water utility. The proposal is attractive on the financial side,” Mayor Scott Silverthorne said.  It could potentially save the city upwards of $45 million in upgrades and eventually reduce residential water bills.

City officials plan to hold another meeting at 11 a.m. April 6 at Sherwood Community Center; the city faces an April 9 deadline. Three residents spoke at the hearing.

Tom Ross spoke in favor of the move.

“We are at a crossroad. For many years we’ve been fortunate to have our own city water system,” Ross said. “What we are facing in the future are significant increases in the costs of operation. I think the choice is obvious. We have the opportunity to join a well-managed system.”

Residents Kate Bennett and Colin Riley questioned the purity of the water that the new system would deliver.

“There is no way of knowing what (pollution) levels are OK,” Bennett said. “Cost is an issue, but we need to take other issues into account.”

Riley questioned the potential fiscal advantages “The costs seem significant,” Riley said, “but it’s difficult to believe that by going to Fairfax Water that that the bills will go down.”

One Fairfax Water source is the Occoquan Reservoir, which is fed by treated water from the Upper Occoquan Service Authority.  However, the water delivered to Fairfax City will be drawn from the Potomac River, which is treated at a very high level, said Rick Thoesen, city director of utilities.

 “I’m trying to dispel some of the fear that people may have with this move,” Thoesen said. “We want to get people more comfortable with Fairfax water. It’s a very responsible agency.”

Note: This version of the article corrected the time of the April 6 meeting.