Viewpoint: What will become of Lake Accotink?
By Paul Gilbert
One of Fairfax County’s most beloved parks is at a crossroads – and Fairfax County wants your input.
Lake Accotink draws 250,000 visitors a year. Along with Burke Lake and Lake Fairfax, it is one of three lakefront parks that serve as the anchor attractions of the Park Authority system. Think of them as the anchor stores in a shopping mall – the big draws that are central to the system.
The lake has been slowly filling with silt (dirt) from upstream runoff for decades. It was dredged in 1967, 1985, and 2008. It needs dredging again. That is not a crisis; maintenance is the cost of ownership.
In 2018, there was a proposal by the county to get rid of the lake to save money. That sparked the creation of Save Lake Accotink, a local advocacy group.
How the costs spiraled
In 2019, dredging was estimated at $30.5 million. By 2023, that figure had ballooned to $95 million. The 2023 estimate had a $395 million price tag for 25 years, based on dredging every five years. That was not a great assumption, considering that in the past dredging was needed about every 20 years.
Two things drove up the costs.
First, the volume of sediment to be removed grew from 350,000 to 500,000 cubic yards – a 43 percent jump. The higher number simply gives you a deeper lake, which is not the primary need.
Second, and more damaging, Dominion Power refused to allow the county to use the Wakefield Park power line easement to dry the dredged material before it is trucked away. That had been the cornerstone of the affordable plan. Dominion refused to be inconvenienced, and that is costing you and me.
Where things stand
Rather than give up, James Walkinshaw (then Braddock Supervisor and currently a member of Congress) convened a task force that produced a workable path forward: preserve a smaller lake – at 40, 30, or 20 acres.
An open house on June 6, attended by Walkinshaw and supervisors Rachna Sizemore Heizer (Braddock) and Rodney Lusk (Franconia), updated residents on the ongoing Smaller Lake Accotink Preservation Feasibility Study.
In my view, the county should hold out for 40 acres. The smaller options cost less but give up too much. A 20-acre lake is not Lake Accotink – it is a pond. We need to take the long view and realize that having lake parks is one of the great assets of Fairfax County.
I grew up in Springfield. I biked around that lake as a kid and sailed it in a boat I bought with lawnmowing money. Lake Accotink is part of who we are.
Tell your county leaders you want a 40-acre lake similar to the one we have enjoyed for decades. Submit feedback on the Lake Accotink study on the Engage Fairfax County website.
Paul Gilbert served as executive director of NOVA Parks for 20 years and in 2025 received the Pugsley Medal, the nation’s highest award for recognizing contributions to the conservation of public parks. He lives blocks from Lake Accotink and took part recreational activities at the lake since he was a child.