Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

Stream restoration project starts this week in Annandale

Construction is expected to start this week on a stream restoration project in the Broyhill Crest neighborhood in Annandale.  The Murray Lane Outfall Restoration Project will stabilize a 722-linear-foot section of an unnamed tributary of Holmes Run in the Cameron Run watershed. The project will increase capacity in the existing channel and stabilize the stream … Continued

Salt on roads harms waterways

With wintry weather predicted for Wednesday, it’s a good time to think about the ecological damage caused by using salt on icy roads and driveways.  The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will introduce a new a Salt Management Strategy Toolkit at a public meeting next month with resources and recommendations for best practices to reduce … Continued

Fairfax county pays homeless crews to clean up streams

Trash collected by Bailey’s Shelter residents at a recent cleanup at a stream behind Fairmont Gardens in Annandale.  Fairfax County’s debris and litter-choked waterways need cleaning up, while people experiencing homelessness need job experience. That’s where Operation Stream Shield comes in. The program is a partnership of the county’s Stormwater Planning Division, other county agencies, … Continued

Holmes Run watershed in Falls Church is the site of a colonial plantation and military base

This was the site of the Dulin farmhouse in the 1700s. The wooded area along the upper section of Holmes Run near Providence RECenter in Falls Church was once a part of a slave-holding plantation in the 1700s. The Camp Alger military base was there in 1898. And in the 1920s, it was the site … Continued

New environmental group will advocate for protection of Holmes Run waterway

Holmes Run overflowed its banks after torrential rains July 8. [Photos by Kris Unger] A newly formed organization, Friends of Holmes Run, plans to keep an eye on development at the Inova site on Gallows Road, at Fairview Parkway in Merrifield, and other sites near the Holmes Run waterway. “We are concerned about human impacts … Continued

Oil spill affects Holmes Run

Ranck Updated, 5:35 p.m.: An oil spill on the Inova property on the 3200 block of Gallows Road on March 21 has contaminated Holmes Run. The Fairfax County Fire Department found approximately 3,700 gallons of diesel fuel had spilled out of some tanks, Battalion Chief Marty Ranck, with the department’s Hazardous Materials Response Team, reported … Continued

Committee to rule on whether a home can be built in a flood zone in Annandale

4104 Woodlark Drive. Fairfax County officials are considering a proposal to build a home in Annandale on a property subject to flooding. The project, at 4104 Woodlark Drive, would disturb more than 2,500 square feet of a resource protection area (RPA), so it’s up to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Exception Review Committee (ERC) to decide … Continued