Contractor raised the new half-million-gallon tank into place this week, clearing the way for final connections and site work
PURCELLVILLE — The town’s new half-million-gallon elevated water storage tank at Fields Farm has reached its final elevation, a milestone the contractor hit this week, according to the May 15 Town Council weekly update.
The tank will now be permanently connected to its concrete pedestal. Remaining work includes a concrete pour, welding, final coating, interior piping and valves, connection to the water line, electrical, site work and a stormwater basin. The tentative completion date is September 2026, town staff reported.
The project, funded with American Rescue Plan Act dollars, has been a top water-system priority for Purcellville since the August 2021 update to the Water Resource Study found that the town’s finished water storage capacity was inadequate to meet Virginia Department of Health requirements. Only the J.T. Hirst Reservoir improvements ranked higher in that study.
Town Council voted in November 2023 to accept the Deed of Re-subdivision and Deed of Conveyance for Parcels A and B at Fields Farm, the parcels needed to host the tank and clear federal permitting timelines. The Planning Commission followed in 2024 by recommending approval of the rezoning, special use permit and commission permit tied to the project. The town had to obligate the ARPA funds by December 2024, with project completion required by December 2026.
Why the town needs a second tank
Purcellville’s water system currently relies on two finished water tanks, a 200,000-gallon tank and a 1-million-gallon tank. The million-gallon tank dates to 1930 and was last repainted on the interior in 1997. A 2023 inspection flagged corrosion and recommended draining and repainting the tank at the town’s earliest opportunity. The system has not had the storage or production capacity to take the larger tank offline for that work.
Staff have laid out four reasons the new tank ranked as a high priority. It brings finished water storage into compliance with state health requirements. It adds reliability across the distribution system, including fire flows for a two-hour duration on top of average daily demand of about 570,000 gallons. It adds flexibility in emergencies because Purcellville, unlike many systems in eastern Loudoun, has no interconnections with neighboring water systems and is on its own for treated water during a transmission line break, drought or other disruption. And it finally creates room to take the 1930 tank out of service for the long-overdue interior work.
ARPA funding and the path here
The tank is fully funded by ARPA dollars and is identified in the town’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan as a necessary infrastructure project. Earlier estimates put the project at roughly $3.7 million.
The project’s path has not been smooth. Property acquisition was identified as the critical path as early as April 2023, when then-Director of Engineering, Planning and Development Dale Lehnig warned Council that Loudoun County’s decision to drop its Fields Farm sports complex plans complicated access to the site. The town needed to acquire the parcel and secure additional easements before the ARPA clock ran out. The 2024 land transfers and zoning approvals resolved those issues, and the project was awarded to a contractor later in 2024.
A September 2026 completion would put the tank in service three months ahead of the December 2026 ARPA deadline and finally clear the way for the town to take the 1930 tank offline for the maintenance flagged three years ago.
