Utilities CIP: Arlington plans nearly $972M over 10 years for water, sewer, AMI and 'regen' solids project

Arlington County staff outlined a multi‑hundred‑million dollar utilities capital plan covering water, sanitary sewer and the water pollution control plant, with priorities on systematic reinvestment, resiliency, reliability and sustainability.

Mike Collins, deputy director for DES operations, said the FY27–36 utilities CIP proposes about $972 million before an implementation adjustment; applying a roughly 20% cash‑flow reduction across most programs (excluding the region project) brings an adjusted 10‑year figure near $830 million. The plan dedicates roughly 40% of the funding to the water pollution control plant, mainly for the Arlington Region solids program (the ‘regen’ project).

Key projects and programs: John Lawler and other staff highlighted increased funding for water main replacements ($108 million over 10 years), large‑diameter sewer trenchless rehabilitation projects (Roslyn and 4 Mile Run relief), and investments aimed at source water redundancy and finished‑water interconnections. Lawler said the county has invested heavily in sewer relining (cured‑in‑place) and is scaling to large‑diameter work while recognizing the higher complexity, pump‑around and planning costs.

AMI pilot and rollout: Staff completed an AMI pilot at 125 locations with a 96% read rate and plan to expand to 3,600 commercial customers in FY27 and transition about 35,000 residential meters between FY28 and FY31 (about 38,000 meters total). Collins emphasized the pilot preserved the existing positive‑displacement meter technology; the new endpoints read meter output remotely and do not alter the physical meter.

PFAS, source water and regional risks: On PFAS, Collins said the county’s detected drinking‑water concentrations are very low (about two parts per trillion for a few compounds) and that regulators nationwide are still calibrating standards. Following the recent regional Potomac interceptor collapse, county staff confirmed the event sharpened regional focus on source‑water redundancy; Arlington is studying interconnections and possible storage and has placeholders in the CIP for regional projects (e.g., Delcàrle reservoir expansion and Trevillian Quarry studies).

Regen solids program: Lisa Racy presented the plant’s solids program (thermal hydrolysis plus anaerobic digestion) to replace aging solids‑processing equipment, reduce biosolids volume by approximately 50%, recover biogas to be upgraded into renewable natural gas (RNG), and produce a higher‑quality soil amendment. Staff said the program will be delivered via design‑build and that negotiations for a guaranteed maximum price were underway.

Budget and rates: Bonds remain the primary funding source for large projects (including regen and Washington Aqueduct costs); utilities PAYGO supports annual maintenance capital. Staff noted the utility rate implications are part of the operating budget process; debt service and transfer to capital are significant contributors to the utilities fund operating cost.

Next steps: Staff will continue design and procurement, bring a negotiated GMP for regen to the board later this year, expand AMI deployment as scheduled contingent on procurement and implementation, and monitor PFAS regulatory developments.