Public Works and Environmental Services

Fairfax County, Virginia

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our administrative offices are open Mon – Fri by phone, email, and virtual 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Front-desk hours 9 a.m. – noon.

703-324-5015
TTY 711

12000 Government Center Parkway
Suite 358, Fairfax, Va 22035

Shahram Mohsenin,
Director, Wastewater Planning & Monitoring

Sewer Charges

Billing policies and sewer charges are established by the Board of Supervisors as prescribed by Article 10, Chapter 67.1 of the County Code. Charges and code language are reviewed annually by county staff as part of the county’s annual strategic planning and budgeting process and revised as necessary. Following are specific billing practices:

Residential

Residential customers are billed for use of the sanitary sewer system based on water consumption during the current billing period or the preceding winter quarter billing period, whichever is lower. This prevents residential customers from being charged for sewer use on water used outdoors during the summer.

Residential customers who use the county’s sanitary sewer system, but obtain water from a well, are charged based on the number of persons residing in the home.

Commercial

Commercial customers are billed for sewer use based on their actual water consumption. Some commercial customers use meters to separately measure water that does not drain to the sanitary sewer system, such as water used for irrigation or cooling systems. These metering arrangements do not benefit residential customers, whose winter quarter water consumption limits the amount of sewer usage billed in the summer months.

Commercial customers who use the county’s sanitary sewer system, but obtain water from a well, are charged based on the number of fixture units in the commercial building.

A Sewer Base Charge, for all customers, became effective with the billing period beginning July 1, 2009. The base fee is to partially recover fixed expenses for billing, wastewater collection, engineering, planning and administration.

Sewer service charges are billed and collected in quarterly combined water and sewer billings through two water billing agents. To establish a sewer billing account contact the appropriate water supplier:

Contact the Wastewater Planning and Monitoring Division at 703-324-5015, TTY 711, with questions regarding sewer service charge rates and billing.

Fee Increase at a Glance

  • The residential base charge is increasing $3.60 per quarter. The base charge for commercial customers will vary depending on the meter size. Both residential and commercial customers will see an increase of $0.37 in the volumetric rate.
  • New environmental rules to protect the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay are one reason for the increase.
  • Sewer rates are also increasing to cover the cost of replacing our aging sewer system.
  • The county still has one of the lowest rates in the region.
Fairfax Virtual Assistant