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Stafford board authorizes hearings on updated utilities master plan that includes reclaimed‑water system
Summary
Stafford supervisors approved advertising hearings on an updated utilities master plan that incorporates the county's first reclaimed‑water system and new pro‑rata funding to support system upgrades; board signaled reclaimed water will be used to serve industrial cooling and data‑center demand while staff pursues rate and ordinance updates.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors authorized public hearings on an updated utilities master plan that embeds the county's first reclaimed‑water service and new pro‑rata funding to support capital upgrades.
Acting Utilities Director Mark Anderson told the board the master plan — the county’s first major update in about 15 years — reflects slower residential growth, a projected 15% reduction in long‑term water demand compared with earlier forecasts and a need to shift water to underutilized central service areas. Anderson said the update adds a reclaimed‑water service boundary east of I‑95 to serve industrial uses, including cooling for large facilities.
Chief of Community Operations Chris Edwards said the Aquia Wastewater Treatment Plant would supply the first reclaimed‑water corridor and that a later phase could bring reclaimed water from the Little Falls plant if demand requires it. Edwards said the update is intended to improve redundancy, support central‑area capacity needs and make certain capital projects eligible for pro‑rata funding that will be implemented in the FY2027 budget.
The board’s motion authorized advertising hearings with the Utility Commission, Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and directed staff to prepare ordinance updates and rate schedules for reclaimed water prior to budget adoption. Edwards told supervisors a comprehensive overhaul of the county’s water and sewer ordinance will include reclaimed‑water provisions and noted reclaimed‑water rates must be adopted before budget adoption to be implemented in FY27.
Several supervisors asked how reclaimed water would be required or incentivized for data‑center cooling; Anderson and Edwards pointed to water‑services agreements negotiated during rezoning (which can require use of reclaimed water and agreed rates) and said those agreements provide the primary mechanism to ensure reclaimed water is used for industrial cooling rather than drinking‑water supplies.
The board approved the motion to advertise hearings on the updated plan by recorded vote and indicated pro‑rata charges tied to the plan will appear in FY27 budget materials.
What’s next: staff will present the plan and proposed reclaimed‑water ordinance and rates at public hearings. The board also directed staff to continue coordination with Dominion Energy and developers around capacity and system delivery for industrial/reclaimed‑water needs.
