Mantua, Virginia

Geography

Mantua is located in central Fairfax County at (38.852012, −77.257675). It is bordered to the west by the city of Fairfax, to the north by Merrifield, to the east by Woodburn, to the southeast by Wakefield, and to the south by Long Branch. The northern border of the CDP follows U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard), the southern border follows Virginia State Route 236 (Little River Turnpike), and the eastern border follows Prosperity Avenue. The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) is 2 mi to the east, and downtown Washington is 14 mi to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Mantua CDP has a total area of 6.2 sqkm, of which 0.06 sqkm, or 0.91%, is water. Accotink Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, flows through the northern part of the CDP, and Crook Branch, a tributary of Accotink Creek, flows through the southern part.

History

Texaco oil leak

An oil distribution plant, located 2000 ft west of the community along Pickett Road in Fairfax City, was found in 1990 to have leaked approximately 200,000 gallons (approximately 4,700 barrels) of petroleum into 22 acres of the soil and groundwater of the Crook Branch watershed. At the time, the distribution plant was owned in part by a subsidiary of Texaco. The oil leakage may have occurred over up to twenty-five years, as the distribution plant had opened in April 1965. Four families were evacuated, and approximately 100 homes were connected to public water and sewer lines. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directed the installation of a "pump-and-treat" groundwater remediation system, which was augmented in 2000 by digging of horizontal infiltration wells, intended to wash contaminated groundwater into the remediation system. Storm sewers in the area were checked for leaks and relining was performed to prevent further contamination of surface water. By 2013, a four-year temporary shutdown test had shown that benzene and methyl tert-butyl ether vapor intrusion in homes directly above the contaminated groundwater plume calculated from sub-slab soil vapor sampling did not exceed the screening limit, and that groundwater contamination east of the distribution plant had fallen to levels controllable by natural degradation. The offsite remediation system was removed by 2016, but cleanup at the distribution plant is ongoing. The oil distribution plant remains in operation as of 2023 using nine reinforced surface tanks, despite objections that community members and a task force appointed by Governor L. Douglas Wilder had raised at the time the leak was being investigated. All underground tanks have since been removed and piping for trucks to discharge oil residual into at the loading rack was installed in 1991: both the underground tanks and the loading rack had been suspected sources of the leak. Groundwater in the Crook Branch watershed continues to be tested annually by the EPA and storm sewers are inspected for cracks.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,135 people, 2,628 households, and 1,936 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,031.0 people per square mile. There were 2,766 housing units at an average density of 716.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.5% White, 19.7% Asian, 2.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 6.2% of the population.

The median age was 46.1 years. 25.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.3% was 18 to 24, 18.6% was 25 to 44, 31.7% was 45 to 64, and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $112,008. About 3.8% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older.

Public schools

Mantua's former principal, Jan-Marie Fernandez, was awarded the "2010 National Distinguished Principal for Virginia" and Woodson HS is ranked #280 in U.S. News & World Report's National Rankings.

The community is served by the Fairfax County Public Schools.

Secondary schools serving Mantua include:

• Frost Middle School
• Woodson High School

Notable people

• Gerry Connolly, former member of the United States House of Representatives
• Stephen E. Gordy, member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Augusto and Michaela Odone, subjects of the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon
• Lorenzo Odone, notable ALD patient

References

References

1. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
3. "QuickFacts: Mantua CDP, Virginia". United States Census Bureau.
4. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. (April 2020}}{{cbignore). "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Mantua CDP, Virginia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
6. (3 May 2023). "Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Motiva Enterprises LLC - Fairfax Terminal (Formerly: Star Enterprise) in Fairfax City, Virginia".
7. (April 1998). "Statement of Basis: Star Enterprise Terminal, Pickett Road Facility, Fairfax, Virginia". EPA Region III.
8. Kyriakos, Marianne. (5 August 1995). "Mantua: After the Oil Spill, Life Is Good Again".
9. Shuman, Sue Kovach. (2021). "Mantua". Arcadia Publishing.
10. CNB. (14 May 1995). "Fairfax Community Lives to Fight Oil Underground". The Roanoke Times.
11. Fan, Andrew. (29 May 2013). "Permanent Shut Down Plan for the Offsite Remediation System Motiva Fairfax Terminal".
12. Davis, Patricia. (23 April 1992). "Residents Demand Shutdown of Fairfax City Tank Farm".
13. (July 2012). "Virginia: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts". Census.gov.
14. (February 13, 2008). "Census Designated Place (CDP) Program for the 2010 Census – Final Criteria". [[Federal Register]] (Volume 73, Number 30).
15. "W.T. Woodson High School".
16. "[http://www.mantua.org/about/schools.htm Schools] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-07-31 ." ''Mantua''.)
17. Gordy-Fairfield Heats Chilly Night in Fairfax City, ''Washington Post,'' Patricia Davis, October 10, 1985