Mantua is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.

[4] 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.

An oil distribution plant, located 2,000 feet (610 m) 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 (0.089 km2) of the soil and groundwater of the Crook Branch watershed.

[6] Storm sewers in the area were checked for leaks and relining was performed to prevent further contamination of surface water.

[7]: 9  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,[11] and that groundwater contamination east of the distribution plant had fallen to levels controllable by natural degradation.

[6] The oil distribution plant remains in operation as of 2023 using nine reinforced[7]: 6 [9]: 106  surface tanks,[6] despite objections that community members[12] and a task force appointed by Governor L. Douglas Wilder[10] had raised at the time the leak was being investigated.

[10] Groundwater in the Crook Branch watershed continues to be tested annually by the EPA and storm sewers are inspected for cracks.