TCA’s current ten-year Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit to withdraw water from the Potomac Aquifer will expire on March 31, 2028. While this permit has been extended by at least 5 years, per the 2024 adoption of Virginia Senate Bill 337 (view SB 337 here), a replacement permit is not guaranteed thereafter and dependent on the long-term health of the aquifer. Thus, the DEQ is requiring TCA to secure an alternative source of water supply to Tauxemont Water customers at the expiration of its withdrawal permit. To meet this requirement, TCA is currently in the process of reviewing the process of a transition from our self-managed well water system to Fairfax Water Authority.

A transition such as this requires infrastructure expenses. TCA is seeking governmental assistance for these expenses. TCA commissioned an engineering report, provided by Dewberry, which concluded that converting our well water system to Fairfax Water Authority will cost between approximately $5,800,000 and as low as $2,500,000, depending on what accommodations can be negotiated with Fairfax Water. TCA also commissioned a legal analysis, provided by Virginia Legal Research, which concluded that equal protection of the law may provide legal remedies to shift the expenses from TCA to Fairfax Water Authority, Fairfax County, or the state of Virginia.

To date, the process of meeting the DEQ’s requirement has been long and arduous and will continue to be, when and if our water system is merged, due to the numerous challenges of integrating our 85-year-old system with a different water deliver infrastructure. These challenges include, but are not limited to, the addition of main pipelines to specific sections of our subdivision, relocating individual property feeder lines if needed, installing fire hydrants and property water meters, and abandoning our three wells.

TCA remains cautiously optimistic that governmental funding will be obtained and the transition will be at no cost to property owners. If governmental funding is not obtained the cost to the community will likely be amortized over a twenty year period via a special tax district. While we currently have no additional information on potential costs, Fairfax Water Authority engineers note that an average or pro-rated cost per home will be lower for the community to transition as a whole (vs. as individual property owners).

The TCA Board of Directors appreciates Tauxemont Water users’ patience as transition discussions continue. Updates on the results of our efforts will be reported here as needed.