About Us
About Us
Fairfax Water provides its customers with reliable and abundant water of exceptional quality at a reasonable price.
Mission
Fairfax Water provides its customers with reliable and abundant water of exceptional quality at a reasonable price.
Vision
Fairfax Water aspires to remain a respected industry leader, upholding its customers’ trust by providing water of exceptional quality and reliability, at a reasonable price, while supporting the high quality of life and economic vitality of the region.
About
Chartered in 1957 by the Virginia State Corporation Commission as a public, non-profit water utility, Fairfax Water is governed by a 10-member Board composed of Fairfax County citizens and appointed by the elected Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. A general manager, supported by a staff of 475 water professionals, manages the day-to-day operations of Fairfax Water.
Fairfax Water has one of the lowest commodity rates in the Washington metropolitan region and is one of only a handful of water utilities in the country to receive an AAA rating from the top three financial rating services.
The Virginia Department of Health regulates Fairfax Water’s water quality according to regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency and based on the Safe Drinking Water Act passed by the U.S. Congress.
Fairfax Water is Virginia’s largest water utility and one of the 25 largest water utilities in the country, serving one out of every four Virginians who obtain their water from public utilities. Nearly two million people in the Northern Virginia communities of Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Fort Belvoir, Herndon, Dulles, Vienna, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax City depend on Fairfax Water for superior drinking water.
Fairfax Water provides water that is treated at four different locations. Fairfax Water owns and operates the two largest water treatment facilities in Virginia with an average daily water production of 167 million gallons and a combined maximum capacity of 376 million gallons per day. The James J. Corbalis Jr. treatment plant is at the northern tip of Fairfax County and the Frederick P. Griffith Jr. treatment plant is on the southern border of Fairfax County.
Fairfax Water also purchases water from the McMillan and Dalecarlia treatment plants in Washington DC. They are part of the Washington Aqueduct, owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Fairfax Water draws raw water from two primary sources: the Potomac River and the Occoquan Reservoir, which is fed by the Occoquan River. The four treatment facilities feed an interconnected distribution system that includes 4,027 miles of water mains and over 30,000 fire hydrants.
| Strategic Plan 2025 |
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| Financial Report 2023 |
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Prior to 1957, Fairfax County was supplied water through many small, mostly private water systems, and a limited number of public systems.
In order to improve service reliability, establish equitable rates, and provide effective fire protection throughout Fairfax County, the Board of Supervisors created Fairfax Water in September 1957 for the purpose of “acquiring, constructing, operating and maintaining an integrated water system for supplying and distributing water.”
By the end of 1967, Fairfax Water acquired 17 water systems, had 832 miles of mains, 3,354 fire hydrants, and 54,000 metered accounts serving more than 425,000 people.
Fairfax Water’s sole surface-water source in 1967 was the Occoquan Reservoir. With an estimated capacity of seven billion gallons, it was apparent that additional water sources and production facilities would be needed to meet demand. In addition, the Occoquan faced increasing water-quality concerns due to pollution. In 1971, the State Water Control Board approved the Occoquan Policy, which laid the groundwork for protecting our primary drinking water supply.
Even with these improvements, additional supplies and treatment facilities were needed to meet the ever-growing demand for water. In response, the James J. Corbalis water-treatment facilities were built and began operation in 1982 using water from the Potomac River. The Corbalis Plant was formally dedicated on June 25, 1982, and was designed to treat up to 50 million gallons of water per day.
By the end of 1982, Fairfax Water had more than 1,800 miles of mains, more than 10,300 fire hydrants and nearly 126,000 metered accounts serving more than 650,000 people.
The 1980s was a period of exponential growth for Fairfax County. Many farms and fields became subdivisions filled with new homes. Applications for new water service ballooned to as high as 7,500 new connections per year. During this time, Fairfax Water continued to bolster system capacity and reliability through new transmission lines and upgrading of storage and pumping facilities.
In the 90's, Fairfax County continued to grow putting ever-increasing demands on the water system. During this time, the size of the Corbalis plant on the Potomac River was doubled, making it the largest water treatment plant in Virginia. By the end of 1994, Fairfax Water had more than 2,700 miles of water mains, more than 17,300 fire hydrants and more than 197,300 meters.
This time period saw many improvements to technology and operations. A new off-shore intake was constructed on the Potomac River. In 2000 Fairfax Water became the first in Virginia, and one of the few in the nation to use ozone to treat water. Fairfax Water was assigned a triple-A bond rating. At the time, Fairfax Water was the only independent public water agency in the United States to have such a designation. This time also saw the construction of the new Frederick P. Griffith, Jr. water treatment plant.
During this time, the mobile computing wave that was sweeping the country also impacted business at Fairfax Water. This technological advancement allowed for quicker communication and faster response to customer needs. These upgrades were helpful because Fairfax Water was growing. In 2014, the City of Falls Church and Fairfax City systems were integrated into Fairfax Water. This meant that Fairfax Water had finally reached its original mission of creating a centralized water system for the entire county.
Today, Fairfax Water remains customer focused with an eye on the future. In 2016, Vulcan Materials Company and Fairfax Water signed an agreement that sets the conditions for the transformation of a rock quarry into a water storage reservoir in southern Fairfax County. It involves a phased conversion of Vulcan’s quarry in Lorton to a Fairfax Water reservoir ultimately capable of holding up to 17 billion gallons of water by the year 2085. The groundbreaking for this project occurred in 2017 alongside the celebration of Fairfax Water’s anniversary.