Tag: streams
Effective, safe mosquito control requires more brains than brawn
Yard signs from mosquito control companies. [photo by Friends of Accotink Creek] By Elizabeth Kirchner A yard sign advertisement shows a muscular cartoon warrior wielding a backpack sprayer blasting a towering spear-stingered mosquito: Insecticide “fogging” to control mosquitoes in summertime backyards seems powerful and effective, but specialists—even representatives of insect-control industries, Fairfax County, and the … Continued
Fairfax County restores Wakefield Run
The newly restored Wakefield Run. The Wakefield Run restoration project is just about complete, except for some additional replanting that will be done by the contractor and volunteers. The stream is supposed to direct high water out onto the floodplain, and it has done so during a couple of rainstorms that occurred since it was … Continued
Annandale waterways overflowing after rainstorm
Thanks to Annandale Blog reader James Tuttle for sending these photos of flooding along Holmes Run on the Annandale/Falls Church border, during a break in the heavy rains that inundated the area April 30. The water level was “higher than anyone in our family has ever seen it,” Tuttle says.
Small environmental group focusing on stream conservation makes a big splash
Wakefield Run before the restoration project started. Friends of Accotink Creek (FAC) has been named 2013 “Cooperator of the Year” by the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD). FAC is an all-volunteer organization committed to protecting and restoring water quality in a major waterway that flows through the Annandale area and drains into … Continued
Major sewage spill at Holmes Run and Cameron Run
Dead fish in Dora Kelley Nature Park. [Photo by Mark Kelly.] UPDATE: A notice from Fairfax County urges people to avoid Holmes Run stream between Columbia Pike and Dowden Terrace. A sanitary sewer line has broke at Holmes Run, and the City of Alexandria has published a warning urging people to “avoid contact with waters … Continued
Public invited to free workshop on preserving watersheds
Rain barrels don’t have to be boring. Learn how you can help protect, preserve, and improve local watersheds at a free workshop Saturday, Oct. 5, at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus. Educational presentations on the value of the watershed and how to promote sustainable practices will take place in the Ernst Center, 10 a.m.-4 … Continued
A new bridge to be built in Canterbury Woods Park
The old bridge connected the swim club with Canterbury Woods Park. Construction is expected to start within the next few weeks on a new bridge over Long Branch Stream in Canterbury Woods Park in Annandale. The old bridge was washed out during Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized … Continued
Restoration of Luria Park boardwalk to start soon
Renovations of the boardwalk at Luria Park in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County are expected to start within the next month, and the project is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year. The contractor, Accubid Construction Co., will demolish approximately 80 feet of the existing boardwalk, construct a new prefabricated … Continued
Volunteers needed for Accotink Creek cleanups
Volunteers with some of the tires and trash taken out of local streams. (Photo from Friends of Accotink Creek.] Community associations, nonprofits, employee groups, religious institutions, scout groups, students needing community service hours, and anyone who cares about having clean, healthy, litter-free waterways are encouraged to join the 2013 International Coastal Cleanup, beginning next Saturday. … Continued
FXCO orders community to plant 400 trees and shrubs – or be penalized
The site in dispute is between the Glen Forest Pool and Long Branch Creek. When residents of Glen Forest in Bailey’s Crossroads decided to clean up a vacant area next to the community pool—clearing out poison ivy and other vines—to provide a nice, safe space for picnics and children’s recreation, they had no idea they … Continued
Crews working on Holmes Run accidentally damaged a sewer line
Crews working on the Holmes Run stream restoration project inadvertently damaged a 30-inch terra cotta sewer line owned by Fairfax County, the City of Alexandria reported Aug. 12. The sewer line crosses Holmes Run near Chambliss Street in Lincolnia. A small amount of sewage escaped from the broken pipe until the contractor, Avon construction company, … Continued
Holmes Run Crossing project will expand trail access
An easier way to cross Holmes Run. When the Holmes Run Crossing project is completed later this summer, people will have an easier way to walk or bicycle along a trail between the Heywood Glen/Lincolnia Hills community in Fairfax County and Dowden Terrace and Dora Kelly Nature Park on the other side of Holmes Run … Continued