The county adopted a sewer rate structure designed to satisfy all system revenue requirements. The rate structure is also designed to derive revenues from customers equitably. View the Fairfax County Code Chapter 67.1.

Sewer Service Charges are based on water consumption, in thousands of gallons (TG), as measured by a water service meter(s). For single family dwellings and townhouses, water consumption for sewer billing is based on the previous winter quarter consumption. For apartment or multifamily complexes and nonresidential connections, billing is based on actual water used for the quarter. Sewer billings are included in quarterly water and sewer bills issued by the water billing agents.

Availability Fees are one-time charges collected from new sewer customers prior to connection to the system. These fees cover in part the applicants’ proportional share of costs for facilities required beyond the collector system, i.e., sub-trunk sewers, pumping stations, and treatment facilities. For nonresidential units, the minimum availability fee is equal to that of a single-family dwelling rate. Up through FY 1994, the minimum nonresidential rate provided for approximately 30 fixture units; in FY 1995, the minimum nonresidential rate provided for approximately 24 fixture units; and in FY 1996 and thereafter, the minimum nonresidential rate provided for approximately 20 fixture units. Fixture units in excess of the minimum rate are charged at the prevailing fixture unit rate. The fixture unit rate and the minimum fixture unit count were adjusted in FY 1995 and FY 1996 to reflect higher water usage, per fixture unit, by nonresidential users.

Connection Charges are one-time front footage charges used to offset the cost of installing county-built sewers adjacent to the property. The residential minimum is $300; the nonresidential minimum is $600. The residential maximum is $600; for commercial customers, there is no maximum. An additional lateral spur charge of $600 is charged for connecting to a county-built sewer spur.

Lateral Spur Charge is a one-time charge of $600. This charge applies only to properties where the lateral spur was built at the expense of the county.

Reimbursement Charge is the applicant’s proportional share of a developer’s cost of over-sizing a sewer to provide capacity for future development. The number of reimbursement charges that apply, if any, depends on the geographic location of the property to be developed. The reimbursement charge is a one-time charge based on several variables such as unit cost per section of installing the sewer, unit equivalency, interest accrued, etc. Therefore, reimbursement charges will vary.

Rate Stabilization

Since 1994, the Wastewater Management Program has raised sewer service charges and availability fees in small increments to optimize public acceptance of the necessary increases. This rate stabilization philosophy focuses on aligning annual sewer service charge rate increases as close as possible to annual inflation rates. Increases in availability fee rates are indexed as close as possible to borrowing rates. Consequently, rate change scenarios that provide increases and allow annual revenue requirements to be satisfied for Wastewater Management needs are the rate change scenarios of choice.

Rate Development

Sewer service charges and availability fee rates are reviewed annually by county staff and an outside consultant as part of the county’s annual budget process. These fees are analyzed and evaluated, adjusted as necessary, and adopted annually by the Board of Supervisors to ensure that rates are priced accurately. The county allocates operating revenues and expenses, interest income, bond proceeds, debt service payments, and capital improvement expenses between existing and new users of the system based on cost causative relationship analyses.

Separate accounting of revenues and expenses for existing and new customers along with analyses to determine the adequacy of sewer service charges and availability fees are conducted annually by the county. The purpose of these analyses is to allocate system revenues and expenses between existing and new customers such that growth pays for growth.