Fairfax Water plans new pump station on Sleepy Hollow Road

An illustration of the new pump station slated for Sleepy Hollow Road. [Fairfax Water]

Fairfax Water is planning a new pump station for drinking water at 2959 Sleepy Hollow Road next to the Seven Corners fire station.

There’s a single-family house on the property that had been used as a dentist’s office. Fairfax Water intends to tear it down and build a new structure that will look like a single-family house, spokesperson Traci Goldberg told the Mason District Land Use Committee April 27.

The new building will house three pumps, electrical equipment, and instrumentation. There will be an emergency backup generator behind the building. The parking lot will be removed, and a new wall will be constructed between the pump station and the single-family house next door. There won’t be any staff on site.

The project is expected to be completed in late 2023. The Planning Commission will review the plan on July 24. Because the pump station is a public facility, it must go through Fairfax County’s 2232 review process, which means a public hearing might not be necessary.

Aaron King of Rinker Design Associates works on a water main project on Sleepy Hollow Road for Fairfax Water.

Fairfax Water has scheduled a virtual community meeting on the project on May 11, 7 p.m. Click here to join the meeting on Microsoft Teams. You can also call in at 571-348-5786. When prompted, enter conference ID 710 435 065#.

The new water pump is the first of several upgrades needed to improve water pressure in Seven Corners.

In a separate project, Fairfax Water will install a new transmission main connecting Route 7 and Route 50, going along Nicholson Street, Juniper Lane, and Aspen Lane.

Since Fairfax Water acquired the City of Falls Church water system in 2014, it has been implementing measures to integrate the city’s facilities into Fairfax Water’s existing transmission and distribution system, Goldberg said.

The Seven Corners area, located on high ground and near the outer edges of the two water systems, experiences delivery pressures lower than those typically experienced elsewhere in Fairfax Water’s system, she said. As a result, that area is being targeted for improvement

Eventually, Fairfax Water plans to replace or rehabilitate the 70-year-old water tank in the Willston area.