Two sites identified for dredging operation at Lake Accotink

Fairfax County public works staff recommend two sites for processing the sediment to be dredged out of Lake Accotink.

Those sites, announced at a community meeting Feb. 10, are at Southern Drive and the maintenance area in Wakefield Park.

The dredged material would be transported to whichever dewatering site is chosen via a pipeline. After the material is dried out, it would be carted off by truck.

The Board of Supervisors agreed in October 2019 to carry out a major dredging project to save Lake Accotink. If nothing is done, the lake will eventually fill up with sediment and disappear.

The concept design and engineering study is scheduled to be completed in June. Dredging would begin in fall 2023 and would be completed in 2026.

The public wants to save the lake, Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw said. “There is no way to dredge this lake that won’t cause some challenges.”

Related story: Evaluations underway on Lake Accotink dredging project options

The Southern Drive site is occupied by an abandoned railroad spur and a wooded area. It would accommodate a full dredging operation, and there would be a short pipeline route, said Project Manager Charles Smith.

The challenges include the need to acquire the rights to private land, trees would have to be removed, and trucks would travel through neighborhoods.

The pipeline would go underneath the railroad tracks, which would require extensive coordination with the railroad, Smith said. If that doesn’t work out, the pipeline could go along a service road north of the railroad.

The Wakefield Park maintenance area is large enough to support a full dredging operation, said Smith. It has direct access to Braddock Road, so there would be minimal impact on local communities.

There are some drawbacks, however, including a negative impact on the environment. Seven to nine acres would have to be cleared. And while the Cross County Trail wouldn’t be affected, a connector trail would have to be relocated.

All the other sites previously explored were found to be unsuitable:

• The Lake Accotink upper settling basin has limited access, limited sediment processing capacity, and infrastructure limitations.
• Lake Accotink Island would have significant environmental impacts, complex logistics, and would be disruptive to neighborhoods.
• The Dominion Right of Way in Wakefield Park is in a floodplain and there would be conflicts with the power line.
• The Port Royal Road site would require the county to purchase and demolish buildings. The owners don’t want to sell.
• Other potential sites were ruled out last year, including the Wakefield ballfields, Howrey Park, and a concrete plant.

During the Q and A period of the meeting, the most common complaints raised by community members were about the removal of trees and heavy trucks in residential neighborhoods.

If the Southern Drive site is selected, trucks would most likely use Highland Street and Backlick Road/Amherst Avenue, said Amanda Kohler, an environmental engineer at Arcadis, the consulting company hired by the county.