Speak Out on Water Issue Tonight

Tonight is your chance to speak out on the future of Fairfax City water. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall. 

Here's a quick overview of the two options on the table:

• Keep city's water service. This means coming up with funding for equipment replacement, maintenance and improvements, some of which are required by new state law.
• Join Fairfax Water. This means selling the city's current water treatment facilities and joining the largest water utility in the state.

Five options were presented on Sept. 20, 2011. The additional options dealt with varying degrees of buy-in with Fairfax Water.

If the city decides to stick with its water facilities in Loudoun County — Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant and Beaverdam Creek Reservoir — it will have to come up with $30 million over the next two years. Fairfax City will also need to fund $25 million over 12 years to help pay for upgrades to the Norman M. Cole Jr. Pollution Control Plant. The city owns a portion of the Fairfax County plant and is expected to chip in to fund projects the plant needs to meet new federal regulations.

Some concerns raised by council members and residents:

• Fairfax City water is cleaner, better tasting and higher quality than county water.
• The city would not get a voting member on the Fairfax Water board.
• Additional expensive improvements will be needed to maintain the city's water supply in the coming years.
• City would lose a valuable asset.
• City would be at the mercy of the largest water provider in Northern Virginia with little to no say in how water is managed, funded or supplied.

Check Patch for more information.