Falls Church flags higher sewer and stormwater costs as AlexRenew, CFPF reshape next‑year budgets

Falls Church — City finance and Public Works staff told the city council on May 12 that regional treatment plant upgrades and a new state flood‑planning grant have pushed the sewer and stormwater programs to the front of the FY27 capital and rate discussions.

Caitlyn Sabsi, CIP coordinator, said the six‑year sewer program totals about $33 million. A significant driver is a finalized agreement for additional conveyance and treatment capacity at AlexRenew, the regional wastewater treatment authority. Caitlyn said AlexRenew’s recently announced capital program (described by staff as a multiyear, ‘phase forward’ rehabilitation) increased projected costs substantially and will raise the city’s share of regional debt and treatment charges. To fund FY27 debt service and modest operating increases, staff proposed a 5% sewer rate increase for FY27.

Stormwater planning and grants: Caitlyn also described a larger stormwater program for FY27 ($8.6 million) than in the prior CIP because the city has secured a Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) planning grant (~$493,000) from the Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop a stormwater resilience plan. Once approved by the state, that plan will make the city eligible for 50/50 construction grants through CFPF — a potential local‑match lever that could accelerate capital work in future years. The proposed FY27 stormwater fee increase is 7% to fund near‑term debt service and program costs.

Why it matters: Treatment plant capital decisions at regional partners (AlexRenew and other neighboring facilities) can materially raise local rates because Falls Church conveys flow to regional plants and bears its share of capital and operating costs. Caitlyn told council that AlexRenew’s capital program has grown sharply—staff said costs have roughly doubled since they were discussed last year—creating pressure on the sewer fund and requiring rate adjustments to fund the city’s share of debt service.

10‑year pipeline and unfunded projects: Staff reiterated that the CIP relied heavily on grants (roughly $95 million of the $163 million six‑year total) and noted a $10 million delay in an anticipated reserve contribution tied to a private project (Westfall phase 2) that raised $6 million of project needs into the unfunded column. Caitlyn said that general‑fund CIP projects were the hardest hit by the reduced reserves and urged exploring new local or regional funding arrangements to sustain prior CIP scale.

Council direction: Members asked for more information on AlexRenew’s schedule and cost assumptions and asked staff to provide comparisons to past regional estimates. Caitlyn and department staff agreed to return with additional detail and to use the upcoming May markups to present scenarios for rates and CIP tradeoffs.

Provenance: Staff CIP presentation and council Q&A (CIP overview and sewer/stormwater sections, timeline entries beginning SEG 1984, with AlexRenew discussion at SEG 2092–2139 and stormwater CFPF discussion at SEG 2142–2176).