GAINSWave Therapy in Lake Barcroft, VA

At a virtual community meeting Feb. 15, Fairfax County officials explained why the dredging project that had been proposed to save Lake Accotink is no longer feasible.

County public works staff are recommending that “Lake Accotink not be dredged due to significant community and environmental impacts and excessive costs.”

A new analysis found the project would cost $395 million, a huge increase over the $30 million price tag projected earlier. That cost includes maintenance dredging every five years, as well as an initial dredge.

An in-person meeting covering the same information will be held this evening, at 7 p.m., at Kings Glen Elementary School in Springfield.

A final decision on the future of Lake Accotink will be made by the Board of Supervisors. The new recommendation, along with input from the public, will be presented to the BoS this spring after the public comment period ends on April 1.

Comments can be emailed to F515@Publicinput.com. A survey will be posted Friday on the project website.

A big disappointment

“We’re very disappointed. We’ve been working on this project for a lot of years,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay.

“There are folks angry about what they’ve heard. I’m angry, too,” said Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw. “We can’t sugarcoat it. The prognosis for this project is not good. The amount of sediment and cost is not a matter of opinion.”

Walkinshaw addressed a rumor that the county will sell the lake to a developer. “That is not going to happen. We don’t sell parkland to developers.”

Chris Herrington, director of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), said he’s heard about “the deep connection people have had with Lake Accotink.”

The latest recommendation “will be extremely disappointing to you,” Herrington said. But “we cannot proceed with a full dredging of Lake Accotink.”

To fund the nearly $400 million cost of dredging, the county would have to raise taxes, he said. And there won’t be money for other more effective projects elsewhere to reduce flooding and retain stormwater.

The project would not be in line with policies adopted by the BoS on greenhouse gases, sustainability, efficient government, safety, and the environment, he said. The dredging project would require 50,000 greenhouse gas-emitting truckloads of sediment removed from the lake.

A future wetlands park

In lieu of dredging, county staff recommends the Park Authority carry out a new Master Plan development process for Lake Accotink Park.

The property will remain a park, said Charles Smith, the branch chief for stormwater planning at DPWES.

The lake will remain for the foreseeable future, but vegetation will gradually take over the margins and the lake will transform into wetlands, Smith said. He wouldn’t speculate on how soon that would happen, as it would depend on the severity of storms in future years.

A wetlands would dramatically increase the wildlife diversity and abundance in the park, Smith said. The lake currently has poor water quality and is not a good environment for fish.

Related story: Lake Accotink dredging project not likely to happen, due to increased cost

Both the original and updated studies looked at solutions to increase the depth of the lake to eight feet to ensure its viability for recreational uses. The depth currently ranges from one to four feet.

The dredging project called for building a pipeline to transfer the dredged material to a dewatering site and transporting the dried sediment by truck to an offsite location, explained environmental engineer Amanda Kohler of Arcadis, the consulting company that carried out both studies for the county.

A new analysis

Several community members at the meeting questioned how the cost estimate could have soared from $30 million to nearly $400 million.

“Some of the critical assumptions have changed,” said Herrington. “The initial analysis included low-cost disposal options and underestimated the amount of sediment.”

The latest study found 500,000 cubic yards of sediment would have to be removed during the initial dredging. The initial estimate was 360,000 cubic yards. Another 150,000 cubic yards would have to be removed every five years.

Among the two sites identified as the best options for dewatering, use of the maintenance facility in Wakefield Park would require clearing seven acres, Kohler said. That’s much larger than originally estimated. The other site, on Southern Drive, would require 190 trucks a day through neighborhood streets carrying sediment out of the area.

No good alternatives

Arkadis reconsidered one of the other initial options for saving the lake – creating a new offline smaller lake in the park.

According to county staff, that is “not a suitable alternative for lake management due to significant community and environmental impacts, unreasonable risk for long-term safety and maintenance, and high project costs.”

Creating a new smaller lake – about half the size of Lake Accotink – would require dredging 825,000 cubic yards of sediment from the existing lake, importing 340 cubic yards of fill dirt to construct an earthen berm, rechanneling Accotink Creek, removing part of the existing dam, and building a new dam. Kohler said.

That would cost about $192 million, not including maintenance, and might not be sustainable over the long term.

Without the dredging project, Smith said the county will still carry out stream restoration projects throughout the Accotink watershed.

The county would not be fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for sending more sediment to the Chesapeake Bay, he said. “Fairfax County is not compelled to maintain Lake Accotink.”

The vast majority of sediment is flushed out into flood plains in the system, he said. “We are not seeing a tremendous impact from sediment on downstream estuaries.”

“Given what we know now, managing this lake is extremely difficult and expensive,” he said. “It’s like digging a hole on the beach with water constantly coming in and filling it up.”

Nuevas cámaras de detección de exceso de velocidad fueron instaladas en los alrededores de ocho escuelas del condado de Fairfax, Virginia, para reducir el riesgo de accidentes con peatones involucrados.

Estos dispositivos comenzaron a operar este viernes 10 de febrero como parte de un programa piloto aprobado por la Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Fairfax en diciembre.

Las ubicaciones de las cámaras son:

Kirby Road, cerca de la Primaria Chesterbrook en McLean

Old Keene Mill Road, cerca de la escuela Intermedia Irving en West Springfield

Franconia Road cerca de escuela Intermedia Key en Springfield

Stone Road, cerca de la Primaria London Towne en Centerville

Sleepy Hollow Road, cerca de la Primaria Sleepy Hollow en Lake Barcroft

Silver Brook Road, cerca de la Secundaria South County en Lorton

Esteatita Drive cerca de la Primaria Terraset en Reston

Rolling Road cerca de la Secundaria West Springfield en West Springfield

DESCARGA LA APP UNIVISION WASHINGTON D.C.

Mantente informado de las últimas noticias y el pronóstico del tiempo de WASHINGTON D.C.

SÍGUENOS EN NUESTRAS REDES

@univisiondc

@univisiondc

@univisiondc

El condado contempla colocar otra cámara cerca de la Secundaria Oakton, en Blake Lane, en un futuro cercano.

Esta iniciativa surgió a raíz de un accidente donde dos estudiantes hispanas y una de origen asiático, precisamente de la Secundaria Oakton, fueron arrolladas por un vehículo en el cruce de Blake Lane y Five Oaks Road, en el que dos de ellas fallecieron y una resultó gravemente herida el pasado 7 de junio.

Tras un periodo de estudio se observó a miles de conductores excediendo en más de 10 millas por hora el límite de velocidad de cinco zonas escolares el año pasado.

Los conductores que sean observados por encima del límite de velocidad durante los primeros 30 días de este programa piloto recibirán una advertencia, pero después se les aplicarán multas de hasta $100 si exceden el límite por 10 o más millas por hora.

WAMU/Michael Pope

Over a six-week period last year, a series of massive infrastructure failures sent more than 300,000 gallons of raw sewage into Lake Barcroft, a private lake next to Bailey’s Crossroads near the border with Arlington and Alexandria. Neighbors who live on the lake say they knew there was a problem because they could smell it, although they say they never received official notice from Fairfax County.

“The smell was overwhelming. You knew there was a problem,” says Sheila Wayman, a longtime resident of Lake Barcoft. “It was like a toilet overflowed and nobody took care of it on a hot summer day, and it was just bacteria and gassy smells and it was disgusting.”

The four spills into Lake Barcroft were part of a larger problem with the sewer lines in that area, which included six spills in 2013 and 2014. State regulators say the county dumped more than 600,000 gallons of sewage into Holmes Run, Lake Barcroft and an unnamed tributary of Hunting Creek. The Department of Environmental Quality hit Fairfax County with a $27,300 civil charge, a case that was closed late last month after county officials submitted a plan to fix the problem.

“There were people swimming in Lake Barcroft after it had been contaminated,” says Del. Kaye Kory (D-38). “There were pets drinking the water. There were people using the water to water their gardens. All these activities were going on, and every time a citizen touched or used the water they were being exposed to a danger and I know of a number of people who really became sick, became ill.”

Fairfax County officials say the infrastructure problem has now been solved. They say they were in the process of retrofitting old 1950s-era pipes when the spills happened. The temporary pipes they set up to handle the sewage were able to take the massive weather events that happened in 2013 and 2014, which led to the overflow. All that temporary equipment has now been removed because the permanent pipes have been improved and are now operating at full capacity.

“Since this event, we’ve worked out an arrangement where we notify the water improvement district as soon as the event occurs,” says Randy Bartlett, deputy director of the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services.

Created in 1973, the water improvement district is a Virginia government agency that acts as a special tax district to raise money for the purpose of maintaining the private lake. Although Fairfax County officials notified state regulators when the spills happened, they did not directly notify residents. Bartlett says the county has no plans to directly notify residents in the future.

“I’m not sure I have the means or method right now to make sure that I notify all the proper people and to identify who might be impacted by a sewer spill,” says Bartlett. “If there’s 40 a year, do I notify everybody in the county every time one occurs even though it may not be in their area?”

The politics of notification

The story of what happened in Lake Barcroft last year is a touchy subject in this part of Fairfax County, a community that includes about 1,000 homes. About 270 of those homes are directly on the lake. When the spill happened, the county posted several paper signs at gathering spots on the lake known as “beaches.” Bartlett says the signs were an effort to improve notification efforts.

“I think if you go back probably 10 or 15 years, we were probably not doing notification after we would have a sanitary sewer overflow,” says Bartlett. “We would notify the Department of Environmental Quality, but we would not be out there trying to put signs in all the different places.”

Neighbors say the signs did not accomplish the goal of notifying neighbors.

“The temporary signs that the county placed on the beaches were small and not sufficiently weather-proof and did not adequately alert the membership to the situation,” wrote Lake Barcroft Association President Jim Kilbourne in a letter to state regulators. “In particular, the signs placed at the beaches did not provide notice to the more than 270 homeowners with lakefront property who do not access the lake from the beaches.”

Several neighbors viewed the signs as an inadequate response to a serious problem.

“On at least one occasion, the county tacked a small paper sign to a single telephone pole warning the public of the water hazard,” wrote resident Kimberly Smith in a letter to state regulators. “It was a small sign, easily overlooked if one didn’t know to look for it … a bit of rain or dew would destroy the paper sign.”

What happens next?

Kory, the member of the House of Delegates who represents Lake Barcroft, says she believes Fairfax County dropped the ball. She says the county’s new policy of notifying the watershed improvement district is an insufficient response to the problem.

“I don’t agree with it,” says Kory. “I think it’s inadequate. I don’t think it’s in the public interest. It’s not what citizens expect.”

Kory says she’s already working on legislation for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

“I think the state should require that those residents who would be adversely affected by a sewage spill need to be informed in a timely fashion,” says Kory. “I think that has to be part of our state code.”

Meanwhile, back at the lake, residents are concerned that the county’s aging infrastructure will be able to handle all the new growth and development planned for the area. Many say they are specifically concerned about a proposal to redevelop the strip malls and big box stores at Seven Corners, where developers want to construct as many as 6,000 new homes.

“I think that when it comes to infrastructure, whether it’s sewers or roads or whatever, I think we have a problem,” says Rita Babon, longtime resident of Lake Barcroft. “I hope they are going to be on top of it this time.”

[Music: “Lakehouse” by Guitar Tribute Players from Acoustic Tribute to Of Monsters and Men ]

Naborforce, a company that matches seniors who need a hand with errands or household chores with someone who can help, just became available in Annandale last week.

The program is similar to the village concept underway in some communities, such as Lake Barcroft, which recruits volunteers to help their older neighbors – except Naborforce is monetized and operates through an app, like Uber.

Unlike other gig workers, however, the helpers who sign on to Naborforce tend to be passionate about giving back to the community and helping others; they’re not just doing it for the money, says founder Paige Wilson.

Seniors can’t always rely on family members or volunteers. Ten years ago, Wilson’s mother broke her hip and needed help with a lot of little things, like getting to her bridge club and shopping for groceries.

Wilson stepped in as much as people, but says, “I couldn’t always be there to help her.” That’s the case with a lot of families, when sons or daughters have stressful jobs, often with last-minute meetings, and their own parenting responsibilities.

“That’s a big issue facing the country as the baby boomers are aging,” Wilson says. The number of people over 80 is growing, while the number of family members who can serve as caregivers is shrinking.

“Older people who can no longer drive or manage basic chores have to rely on family members or volunteers if they want to stay independent or they have to move into assisted living,” she says. “There is really nothing in between.”

Wilson started Naborforce in Richmond four years ago to fill that gap. Since then, it has expanded to Atlanta, Bethesda, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, and Northern Virginia – including Alexandria, Springfield, Woodbridge, and other locations.

Older adults who want to participate can sign up online, entering their address and credit card information. They can book a “Nabor,” as the helpers are called, for as little as one hour.

Potential Nabors undergo a background check, Wilson says, and once they are fully vetted. they use the Naborforce app to accept assignments.

Nabors take on such tasks as making a meal, changing a lightbulb, clearing out a garage, going to social events, or addressing Christmas cards – or whatever is needed. In one case, a client whose son travels a lot for work just wanted someone to have lunch with twice a week.

In Northern Virginia, the client pays $33 an hour, and the Nabor receives $19. There’s a one-hour minimum. After that, pricing is prorated for every five minutes.

“Some older adults hate feeling like they’re being a burden when they have to rely on volunteers from their church or community,” Wilson says. “This is a transaction.”

The average age of Nabors is 54, she says, and many are in their 60s and 70s. For retirees, it’s a great way to stay connected with the community, and it’s better than a part-time job because it’s flexible. Nabors can choose which tasks to accept and how much they want to work.

The average visit is two hours, and the average Nabor works four to six hours a week.

Holmes Run, which flows through the Annandale area, is not in great condition, according to a report released Aug. 10 by the Audubon Naturalist Society.

The report, The Story of the Streams, evaluates the health of three waterways in the D.C. region. It finds Holmes Run and the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River to be in “fair condition,” while Oxon Run in Prince George’s County is in “poor condition.”

The Holmes Run watershed is 28 square miles and is almost entirely inside the Beltway. The stream is a primary headwater tributary of Cameron Run. It flows into Lake Barcroft and feeds into the Potomac River just south of Alexandria.

The report gives Holmes Run a grade of “moderately poor” for climate, a rating of “good” for access to nature, and “fair” ratings for water quality and for biodiversity and habitat.

The climate score refers to the loss of wetlands, loss of the tree canopy, loss of forested buffer, and poor air quality. Trees and wetlands are important for preventing flooding, the report notes. Trees also prevent erosion and protect nearby residents from extreme heat.

The Holmes Run watershed “receives drainage from major highways, but has substantial parkland and relatively low-density suburban homes,” The Story of Streams states.

Among the three streams in the study, Holmes Run has the least amount of impervious surfaces, meaning it has comparatively less stormwater runoff from paved surfaces.

Holmes Run has the highest score for tree canopy over the entire watershed, but the worst score for stream buffer. Of the three streams, it is the least protected by trees along its banks. As a result, intense storms have led to erosion and infrastructure damage.

The report suggests people who care about improving stream quality can take these steps:

• Sign up to volunteer with the Audubon Naturalist Society or the Friends of Holmes Run.

• Donate to support the advocacy work of the Friends of Holmes Run or other environmental organizations.

• Download the free Creek Critters phone app to identify stream wildlife and monitor the health of a stream.

• Change your habits at home by creating an eco-friendly yard, compost yard waste, keep leaves out of streets and gutters, avoid fertilizing near gutters and storm drains, pick up pet waste, pick up litter, and plant trees.

• If you want to really go big, install a green roof and replace an impermeable driveway with permeable pavers that let rainwater soak through.