Project Background

The project is in the Dogue Creek Watershed and helps the county meet water quality standards for its residents.  When completed, the project will reduce soil bank erosion and sediment pollutants and reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the Dogue Creek Watershed.  The county will modernize its stormwater infrastructure to meet the needs of today’s climate.  Most especially, the natural habitat on the course, and elsewhere in the watershed, will be revitalized by clearing invasive brush and dropping unwanted trees in the canopy on the course and reforesting 4 acres offsite at Huntley Meadows.  The Huntley Meadows Reforestation Project will serve as a mitigation bank, generating credits for the golf course that enhances our green corridors in the Huntington community.   

Project Description

The stream restoration project will restore 1,905 linear feet of stream channel using a method called Natural Channel Design.  Around 80 different boulder structures will be constructed to accommodate the steep slope of the stream from its headwaters to the pond. This includes outfall tributaries, and their concrete structures, contributing to the stream flow at multiple sections of the project.  Once completed, the watershed will enjoy the removal of 291.47 lbs/year of nitrogen, 833.65 lbs/year of phosphorus, and 93,597.14 ton/year of total suspended solids (eroded sediment).   

The pond dredge will address a wet pond located on the central western portion of the Greendale Golf Course’s south of the 15th green.  The pond itself was meant to serve a 210 acre drainage area, but eroded sediment has lessened the pond’s volume holding capacity.  Once completed, the pond will once again be able to hold the volume of stormwater intended when it was first built.

The project also includes a native planting and landscaping strategy to support the natural habitat on and off the golf course.  At the golf course there will be 640 plants installed post-construction during the landscaping phase.  This will equate to 0.6 acres in natural habitat reforestation.  In addition, diseased and dead trees will be cleared, and invasive vegetation choking the tree canopy at the golf course.   You can expect various oaks, elms, pines, holly, and viburnums to beautify the golf course.  

Huntley Meadows Reforestation

In addition, a 4-acre reforestation project at Huntley Meadows Park will be happening concurrently with the stream restoration and pond dredge.  Our offsite reforestation will include 4,365 different native plant species, including oaks, pawpaws, sassafras, and various fruit-bearing shrubs for migratory bird populations.  The offsite reforestation will allow the golf course to meet any vegetation deficits to keep the greens on the golf course clear for active play.  All the native vegetation selected are specific to the types of soils present at the park as well as the fauna we want to attract for a viable, healthy, and beautiful forest on our neighbor’s edge.      

Project Location

Greendale Golf Course- 6700 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22310
Construction entrances at Horgan Court and Telegraph Lane. 

Project Phase

We are entering the construction phase. 

Project Timeline

• Construction commences 9/2025
• Expected end is Spring 2027

What to Expect

The 2 communities that will be most impacted are the golfers at Greendale Golf Course and the Kingstowne Residential Ownership Corporation. 

There will be changes to the golf course experience. The most significant will be the closure of Hole 6 and a modification to the teebox for Hole 7.  Work will begin with the pond south of Hole 7.  The pond will be dredged, and the upstream creek will be restored using a technique called Natural Channel Design.  The goal is to complete the stream restoration up to Hole 6.  The teebox for Hole 7 will be in the fairway, and closer to the hole.  If the stream work advances to Hole 6 by the end of the off-season, then the teebox for Hole 7 can move back to its original location.  Golfers will ride the golf carts on a mulch detour that bypasses the closure of Hole 6.  So, from Hole 5, golfers will access a turnaround and go to Hole 7’s modified teebox.  During the peak golf season, the project will focus on the outfalls and stream portions that are north of Holes 16 and 17. The project will not impact Holes 16 and 17, beyond the noise of active construction.  

The Kingstowne Residential Ownership Corporation also will experience some modifications to be aware of during the duration of the Greendale Golf Course Stream Restoration and Pond Dredge, the most significant being the closure of the pedestrian trail between Horgan Court and Treetop Lane.  Construction access for the project will begin at two residential points.  The first will be at the end of Horgan Court, and the second will be at the end of Treetop Lane.  

The pedestrian asphalt path beginning at Horgan Court will be closed and covered by the construction access road.  A construction access road is a 12 foot-wide mulch pathway and1 foot thick, then covered with 4 inch thick timber deck mats on top to absorb the weight of the machine during the construction process and preserve the existing infrastructure underneath.  Our heavy construction access road will be laid out on top of the pedestrian path to go under the Dominion transmission power lines, then east and cross the fenceline into the golf course.  

From Treetop Lane the construction access road will run east as well, but to the northern portion of the project.  Residents can expect to see dump trucks delivering materials, heavy machinery arriving on-site and used to support our efforts.  Horgan Court will have a material stockpile to store materials, equipment, and machinery.  There will be days when an excavator is loading dump trucks all day with material to haul away.  It is expected the closed pedestrian trail will be returned to its original condition once the project is completed and the construction access is removed.  

Project Cost and Funding Source

$4,188,035.00 from Stormwater Service Fees and Stormwater Local Assistance Fund 
 

Presentations to the Community

A presentation on the Huntley Meadows Reforestation will take place at Hayfield Elementary on 9/17 with Hayfield HOA. 

Contact

For more information, please email Project Manager Luis Teran, Stormwater Planning Division, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services.