Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utility Commission

Method of Appointment

Five members are appointed by the City Council upon the recommendation of the Mayor. Five members are appointed by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. The Chair is appointed jointly by the Mayor and the Chair of the Forsyth County Commissioners and may be appointed to no more than five terms. No member can be appointed to more than two terms of five years each. No member of the Board of County Commissioners or the City Council may serve as the Chair or a member of the WSFC Utility Commission while actively serving as an elected official.

Number of Members

Eleven

Terms of Office

Five years 

Chief Staff Person

Aaron King
Assistant City Manager
Phone: 336-747-7068

Current Membership - City Council Appointments

Current Membership - County Appointments

Current Membership - Chair

Special Notes

The term of office for the Chair is two years, with a maximum of five terms. The remaining ten members serve staggered five-year terms.

Committees

The WSFC Utility Commission has three committees:

• Finance Committee
• Operations Committee
• Planning and Policy Committee

Authority for Creation 

The authority for establishing the WSFC Utility Commission is North Carolina General Statutes 160-A, Article 20. The Commission was created by an agreement between the City of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County on April 20, 1976 to provide a unified water and sewer system that was operationally and financially efficient. Governance of solid waste disposal was added in 1990.

Purpose/Function

The Commission is an 11-member appointed body that oversees the publicly-operated waster, wastewater and solid waste disposal facilities that serve the City of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. As the policy-making board, the Commission has the authority and responsibility to set rates and provide operational improvements.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities

The WSFC Utility Commission oversees Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities, which provides high quality water, wastewater and solid waste services to approximately 377,000 residential, business and industrial users in its service area through responsible use of resources, reliable delivery and stewardship of the environment. It operates one landfill for solid waste, another for construction and demolition debris, and two yard waste facilities. Three water treatment plants have a combined capacity of up to 91 million gallons a day, drawn from the Yadkin River and Salem Lake. In 2021, these plants treated and pumped a total of 13.46 billion gallons of water that met or surpassed all state and federal standards for drinking water quality. The water distribution system includes more than 2,300 miles of water distribution mains, 14 water tanks and seven pumping stations.

The department also operates two wastewater treatment plants with a combined treatment capacity of up to 51 million gallons per day. The collection system includes nearly 1,800 miles of sewer lines and 45 lift stations. The plants treated 14.2 billion gallons of wastewater in 2021. A workforce of 380 employees operates and maintains WSFC Utilities, which receives no tax revenue and is supported sustainably by user fees charged for water, wastewater and solid waste services.