Rates

Notice - 2019 Rates, Fees, and Charges were approved on December 13th, 2018.

Fairfax Water rates remain among the lowest in the region. Click here to view a comparison chart of local water rates.

Important Rate Information for 2020

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, the Fairfax Water Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on proposed revisions to the schedule of rates, fees, and charges. Proposed revisions include a change in the commodity charge from $3.07 to $3.20 per 1,000 gallons, effective with meter readings taken on or after April 1, 2020. See below for a list of some of the proposed changes. The public hearing will be held at Fairfax Water’s main office at 8570 Executive Park Avenue in Fairfax.

To speak at the hearing or obtain a hard copy of the proposed Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Charges, call 703.698.5600, TTY 711. Even with this increase, Fairfax Water’s commodity rates will remain among the lowest in the Washington metropolitan region.

Fairfax Water Rates, Fees and Charges

As a non-profit public utility, Fairfax Water is mandated to charge only for the actual cost of providing water service to our customers. We conduct Cost of Service studies to evaluate this cost and look closely at population projections, average per capita water usage, and projected inflation rates. For example, one of the major challenges we face is probably familiar to you - the ever-rising cost for fuel and power.

Fairfax Water also has a Strategic Financial Planning Model and we ensure that any proposed increases in rates, fees, and charges are consistent with this model. Most importantly, we evaluate the proposed increases against these guiding principles:

Are the proposed increases fair and reasonable?
Were they derived from empirical data?
Will they be applied equitably to our customers?

Fairfax Water Current Rates, Fees and Charges

Complete List of Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Charges
Current (Effective April 1, 2019)
Proposed (To Be Effective April 1, 2020)

Below is a summary list of Fairfax Water’s current rates, fees, and charges as of April 1, 2019.

CHARGE

CHARGE DESCRIPTION

CURRENT (EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2019)

PROPOSED (TO BE EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2020)

Availability Charge

For service to be furnished through each new separate service connection

$4,260*

$4,320

Local Facilities Charge

For each service connection to an existing water main

$15,285

$18,030

Service Connection Charge

For each new service connection and meter installation, prior to the approval of the application

$1,300*

$1,370

Account Charge

Appears only on Initial Bills, offsets the cost of the office and field work required to open a new account.

$39

$40

Quarterly Billing Service Charge

Is based on meter size, appears on all of our bills for water service. It offsets the costs of meter reading, repair, and replacement; service repairs; billing, postage, collecting, accounting and customer service operations. The charge for apartments, commercial, and municipal accounts also includes a fee to offset the cost of cross connection plumbing inspections.

$12.20*

$14.40

Commodity Charge (per 1,000 gallons)

Charge for Established Accounts - The charge per 1,000 gallons of water used in the previous three months. Established accounts may be subject to a peak use charge.

Charge for New Accounts - The charge per 1,000 gallons of water used in the previous three months. New customers pay a higher rate because they are not charged for their peak use until they establish their winter quarter consumption. **

$3.07

$3.22

$3.20

$3.35

Peak Use Charge (per 1,000 gallons)

Are applied (during billing periods ending in June through November) to water consumption that is 1.3 times the Winter Quarter Consumption or 6,000 gallons above the Winter Quarter Consumption, whichever is greater.

$3.80

$3.85

Turn Off/Turn On Charge

If your service is disconnected due to nonpayment or noncompliance, this charge will be added to your account and must be paid before water service is restored.

$48

$49

Returned Payment Charge

If your check or automatic bank draft is returned unpaid by your bank, a returned payment charge will be added to your account.

$20

Unauthorized Use Charge

If a customer willfully takes steps to reactivate service after service has been initially discontinued by Fairfax Water

$250

Sewer Use Meter Charge

Costs incurred for installing second meter. Typically these meters are for commercial uses, such as irrigation, cooling tower use, and community pools. They register water not sent to the sanitary sewer system.

Actual material costs plus $38 inspection fee

Actual material costs plus $39 inspection fee

* Unless otherwise stated, charges reflect fees associated with standard 5/8 “ residential meter. Changes in charges for larger residential and commercial meters are reflected in the Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Charges available above.

** For customers billed quarterly whose accounts were in existence during the whole of the preceding winter quarter billing period.

Fairfax Water rates remain among the lowest in the region. Click here to view a comparison chart of local water rates.

Click here to view the current 2019 Adopted Budget.

Click here to view the current 2020 Advertised Budget.

Planning for the Future

Another challenge we face is planning for the future. At Fairfax Water, we have plans in place to meet water demands through 2040 and we’re working on plans to ensure our distribution system remains strong through this century. Click here to read more.

This long-range planning allows us to make changes in our rates, fees, and charges in small increments to keep our system strong, which ensures we can expand as needed to meet water demands. Improvements to our system over the past several years cost $500 million, with another $783 million anticipated over the next 10 years. To learn more about these projects, click here.