703-324-5500
TTY 711
Craig Carinci,
Director, Stormwater Planning
A virtual town hall meeting was held on February 10, 2022 to provide updates to the community on the alternatives analysis to determine where dredge spoils processing and associated pipelines could be located. The Alternatives Analysis Report dated July 2021 identified four potential locations: Sediment Basin in Lake Accotink Park near Danbury Forest, Dominion power line easement in Wakefield Park, Lake Accotink Island and the area near the maintenance shop in Wakefield Park. The county’s consultant, Arcadis has conducted further analysis of the preferred alternatives, and two additional alternatives were evaluated at industrial parks on Port Royal Road and Southern Drive. At the February 10 public meeting results of that analysis were presented and county staff recommendations shared that two sites remain viable for dredge spoils processing: the Wakefield Park Maintenance Area and the vacant parcel on Southern Drive. Arcadis will move forward with development of a conceptual design for the Lake Accotink Dredging after conclusion of the public comment period. The conceptual design will include a dredging plan, identify the routes and materials for pipelines to move dredged material, and determine the location for dredge spoils processing and truck routes to remove the material. Arcadis will also develop refined cost estimates for the base dredge and future maintenance dredging operations.
The conceptual design is anticipated to be ready by Summer 2022. County staff will share the conceptual design with the community at that time for review and comment. Additional information will be shared with the public in the interim as it becomes available.
COMMENT ON LAKE ACCOTINK DREDGING PROJECT
Lake Accotink was constructed by the United States Army in 1940 as a freshwater supply for Camp Henderson (now Fort Belvoir). Intense development in the 30 square mile watershed draining to the lake following World War II resulted in the lake losing 50 percent of its capacity. The US Army dredged the lake prior to transferring it to Fairfax County in 1967. A second wave of development in the 1960s and 1970s added significant sediment to the lake. The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) conducted a study in 1982 showing that the lake volume had been reduced to about 25 percent of its original compacity. The FCPA dredged the lake to restore capacity in 1985. By 2001 the lake had filled up again with sediment at a rate of more than 17,000 cubic yards per year. The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) partnered with FCPA to dredge the lake again in 2008. Analysis in 2016 estimated that the lake is now filling up again at about 23,000 cubic yards of sediment per year.
The project will also help the county meet is MS4 permit requirements. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a sediment total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the Accotink Creek Watershed in August 2017. Wasteload allocations to Fairfax County under the Accotink Creek TMDL assume different loading rates upstream and downstream of Lake Accotink. Additionally, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s model for the Chesapeake Bay includes Lake Accotink and assumes that a relative trapping efficiency of about 50 percent for the lake will be maintained by Fairfax County to prevent increases in sediment entering the bay.
The Lake Accotink dredging project will remove an estimated 500,000 cubic yards of sediment to reestablish lake depth and put in place a maintenance dredging program to sustain water quality in Accotink Creek and aesthetic and recreational benefits for county residents.
The Lake Accotink dredging project will remove an estimated 350,000 cubic yards of sediment to reestablish lake depth and put in place a maintenance dredging program to sustain water quality in Accotink Creek and aesthetic and recreational benefits for county residents.
The project is in the Braddock Magisterial District in Lake Accotink and Wakefield Parks in the Accotink Creek Watershed.
The project is in the concept plan development phase which will identify where activities will occur and preparation of refined cost estimates for dredging operations.
Begin Assessment | Winter 2021 |
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Complete Alternatives Analysis | Spring 2022 |
Complete Construction Plans | Summer 2023 |
Begin Construction | 2023 |
Construction Ongoing Through | 2026 |
Warranty and Monitoring | 2026 through 2031 |
Field studies, plan development and public meetings will take place through 2022. Dredging will start in summer 2023 and run through 2026. When construction occurs, there will be truck traffic to the project sites, a temporary pipeline running between Lake Accotink and Wakefield Park, dredging equipment operating in Lake Accotink and spoils processing operations in Wakefield Park. Residents should expect dump trucks moving to and from Wakefield Park via Braddock Road to remove dredged sediments throughout the week, starting after 7 a.m. on weekdays. Be advised at some periods during construction work may occur on weekends, beginning at 9 a.m.
Construction costs for the Lake Accotink Dredging project will ultimately be paid for by the county’s Stormwater Service District.
For more information, please visit the following:
For more information please email Project Manager Charles Smith, Stormwater Planning Division, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, or call 703-324-2467, TTY 711.