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Commission recommends approval of private sewage-treatment system at Conn’s Road property
Summary
After staff review and public comment, the Planning Commission forwarded a category 20 special exception to allow an advanced private individual sewage treatment system discharging to an engineered open ditch, recommending approval to the Board of Supervisors.
The Fauquier County Planning Commission voted to forward a category 20 special exception to the Board of Supervisors recommending approval for the installation of a private individual sewage treatment system at a Conn’s Road property in the Village of Double Poplars.
Staff described a failed septic situation at a 1959 house on two adjacent parcels totaling just over two acres and said the Virginia Department of Health issued an intent to deny a conventional system in May 2024 because there was insufficient suitable soil for a drain field. The proposed system combines an upgraded holding tank, an aerobic treatment unit, ultraviolet disinfection, a sand filter and an engineered minimum 250-foot discharge ditch that follows an existing drainage path to a natural swale at the property line. The system was described as designed to treat effluent to near drinking-water quality before discharge and to include alarms, remote telemetry, a maintenance contract and monitoring.
Tom Warby, the soil scientist designing the system, and the property owners were present and did not add substantive changes to staff’s description. A nearby resident expressed concern about an "open ditch" and the potential for water to accumulate on low ground; staff responded that the system and the discharge path and monitoring will be subject to Virginia Department of Health and DEQ requirements and that the applicant must meet setbacks and operational monitoring conditions included in the staff report.
After closing the public hearing, a commissioner moved to forward the category 20 special exception to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval; the motion carried by voice vote. Conditions attached require consolidation of the two parcels prior to site plan approval, a maximum average discharge equal to or less than 450 gallons per day to serve a three-bedroom home, abandonment of the old tank per VDH rules, and required permits and ongoing monitoring and maintenance agreements.
Discussion vs. decision: the commission recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors; final permits and start-up testing are subject to VDH and DEQ review.
