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TextLower Occoquan Watersheds
Watershed Plan Announcements
The Lower Occoquan Watershed Management Plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 25, 2011.
For additional information or to request material in another format, please e-mail the Stormwater Planning Division or call 703-324-5500, TTY 711.
Profile
Description
The Lower Occoquan watersheds group lies along the southern border of
Fairfax County and consists of eight small watersheds which drain either
to the Bull Run/Occoquan River system or directly to the Potomac River.
The eight watersheds comprising the Lower Occoquan group are:
- Old Mill Branch
- Wolf Run
- Ryans Dam
- Sandy Run
- Occoquan Creek
- Mill Branch
- Kane Creek
- High Point
The Mill Branch and Kane Creek watersheds flow through Belmont Bay and Occoquan Bay before reaching the Potomac River.
Major Streams and Tributaries
Small tributaries within these watersheds include Maple Branch,
Stillwell Run, Elk Horn Run, Giles Run, South Branch and Massey Creek.
Watershed Size
45.4 square miles, total
- Old Mill Branch: 4.4 square miles
- Wolf Run: 5.9 square miles
- Ryans Dam: 3.6 square miles
- Sandy Run: 8.2 square miles
- Occoquan Creek: 3.4 square miles
- Mill Branch: 8.8 square miles
- Kane Creek: 4.8 square miles
- High Point: 6.3 square miles
Unique Features
Approximately half of the Lower Occoquan watersheds area is overlain by
the Watershed Protection Overlay District. This zoning district was
established in 1982 by Fairfax County in a progressive move to protect
the Occoquan Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for the county.
This designation restricts development to one residential dwelling unit
per five acres, thereby protecting the streams draining to the reservoir
from the damaging impacts of more intense land development – primarily
nutrient and sediment pollution.
As a result, this portion of the Lower Occoquan watersheds is densely wooded in most areas and contains some of the highest quality streams found in the county. The Laurel Hill property (formerly the Washington, D.C. Department of Corrections/Lorton Prison facility) is almost completely included in the Lower Occoquan watersheds and is comprised mostly of parkland and open space areas. Historic Gunston Hall, the site of George Mason’s Plantation, is located in the southeastern-most portion of the Lower Occoquan watersheds area in the Mason Neck area. This peninsula on the Potomac contains Mason Neck State Park and the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and is bordered on three sides by Belmont Bay, Occoquan Bay, Gunston Cove and the Potomac River.
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