Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Department of Utilities
Our mission is "To meet the needs of present and future customers by providing
quality water and wastewater service."
NEW! Water Quality Report (in PDF format)
Chesterfield County Department of Utilities is a public utility that uses state-of-the-art technology to deliver the highest quality service to its customers. The department provides water service to 86,531 and wastewater service to 72,575 customers in the county. It works with an annual budget of $44 million, employs 280 people, owns one water treatment plant and two wastewater treatment plants, controls 21 water storage tanks and 32 pump stations, and manages more than 3,100 miles of water and wastewater lines. Water sources for customers include the Appomattox River, James River and Swift Creek Reservoir.
The Utilities Department is diligent about making sure that water is safely
and efficiently delivered to customers. Chesterfield County water consumers can
be assured that the water they drink meets or exceeds federal drinking water
standards and the water quality testing program is aggressive in meeting the
standards plus performing additional tests that are not required by law. The
department is proud to be one of the first participants in the Partnership for
Safe Drinking Water, an alliance with the United States Environmental Protection
Agency and the American Water Works Association and other conscientious water
suppliers. The purpose of the partnership is to systematically evaluate,
scrutinize, and improve all aspects of water treatment to provide the safest and
highest quality water to the public.
Maintaining the water quality in the James River and the Chesapeake Bay is
important to the social and economic future of Chesterfield County and the State
of Virginia. The Proctors Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Falling Creek
Wastewater Treatment Plant play a significant role in achieving this goal by
consistently meeting all environmental regulations. Both plants have received
awards of excellence from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality, and the Virginia Water Environment
Association. The Falling Creek and Proctors Creek Plants have received gold and
silver awards, respectively, from the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage
Agencies which recognized the facilities' compliance with the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permit. The Pretreatment section has won the United
States Environmental Protection Agency National Pretreatment Program Excellence
Award. These awards illustrate Chesterfield's commitment to protecting the
environment for future generations.
In 2002, Chesterfield County Utilities earned a AAA bond rating from the three
top rating services, Standards & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors
Service, on its utility department bonds. Chesterfield Utilities is one of only
two water and wastewater utilities in the nation to have the highest ratings
from all three rating services. Moody’s report cited, “that the department’s
well-managed financial operations has produced a strong financial position, with
low, rapidly retired debt levels, and ample system capacity for future growth.”
Fitch reports, “Chesterfield’s credit strengths include a positive operating
performance record, substantial reserves, rapid debt repayment, sound management
practices, and healthy debt service coverage levels.
In 2001, Chesterfield Utilities was among the first recipients of the
Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies’ Gold Awards for Competitiveness
Achievement. This award recognizes the department’s initiatives in strategic
planning, problem solving, staff training, process management, performance based
measurement, and rewards and recognition to achieve continuous improvement in
efficiency and customer service. “The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
is proud to recognize the achievements of our Gold Award winners,” AMWA
Executive Director Diane VanDe Hei said, “They are among the best-operated, most
efficient water systems in the nation and are a credit to their communities.
Service Availability/Faxing of Sewer Lateral Locations
If you are unsure whether a piece of property has public water or wastewater
service available or if you need a sewer lateral location faxed to you, call
(804) 748-1864.
"Miss Utility" Call Before You Dig
Prior to any excavation, state law requires those digging to telephone "Miss
Utility" at 1-800-552-7001. The location of underground utilities can be marked
to prevent damages to utility lines and disruption of services to our customers.
Utility Emergencies
Chesterfield County is responsible for maintaining waterlines up to the meter
and wastewater lines up to the property line. Lines on the property are the
responsibility of the property owner. Utility emergency crews are on call 24
hours a day. If you see an emergency or suspect there is a problem with any
county maintained utility lines, call (804) 748-1310 (Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m.
- 4 p.m.) Call (804) 744-1360 or (804) 768-0140 if emergency assistance is
needed after regular business hours, weekends or holidays.
CARE Third Party Notification
Under the CARE third party notification program, a family member, friend,
clergyman, or anyone else designated by the customer will automatically receive
a copy of any past due bills. This person can help the customer with the bill or
offer advice on preventing disconnection. For information about CARE Third Party
Notification, call (804) 748-1291.