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Work on Royal Lake to begin soon
Heavy rainstorms in past weeks have prompted this question: Will the 30-year-old earthen spillways and dams around several county lakes hold?They have so far, said Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D), cautioning that although work on the Royal Lake spillway will begin this summer, the soils on the spillways at Lake Barton and Woodglen Lake are “too sparse, and wouldn't be able to hold the velocity of great deals of rushing water, which could result in a dam washout.”
That sort of washout could affect thousands of county residents in communities that would be flooded should the spillways be breached.
This is not a new issue, and in 2005 a series of community meetings began to discuss the options on the rehabilitation of the Royal Lake spillway to prevent eventual disaster.
Thirty years ago the dams were a new effort by the Department of Agriculture to deal with stormwater issues in a suburban area. The earthen dams and spillways had been used by rural communities for flood control.
In a previous interview, Wade Biddicks, Assistant State Conservationist for Water Resource Projects for the State of Virginia said, “There are 150 of these dams in the state of Virginia. ... They were built for flood control and also for the collection of sedimentation, which helped to purify the water and prevent stream degradation.”
The agreed solution: Dig up the existing spillways and lay down articulated concrete blocks (slabs with holes), then cover the blocks with soil and grass. What will appear to be a grassy field will, in fact, be a concrete-reinforced spillway with enough integrity to withstand a hundred-year storm.
In a 35-percent to 65-percent cost-share deal with the federal government, Fairfax County will have to pay roughly $900,000 to rehabilitate each dam. Total costs run up to $2.5 million per dam.
While work is ready to begin on Royal Lake, preliminary work is still being done to ensure the other two lake spillways will be reconstructed.
Sediment capacity studies have recently been completed on Lake Barton and concept plans have yet to be finalized.
Next week, the county will sign the cost-sharing agreement with the federal government for Woodglen Lake. The county will then solicit bid proposals from developers, with construction beginning shortly thereafter.
For more on spillway reconstruction in the county, go to www.fairfaxcounty,gov/braddock/damrehabs.
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