Stream Restoration Underway for Northern Virginia County

March 31, 2020

Stream restoration is in the works for a Northern Virginia county

 

The Vienna and Fairfax County governments are improving streams within the town.

On March 24, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an amended agreement with the North Virginia town. The agreement will provide additional funding to design and construct stream restorations along Piney Branch in Vienna’s Northside Park, reported Inside Nova.

The project will restore about 1,400 linear feet of Piney Branch, improving water quality and reducing nutrients in the Difficult Run watershed. The initiative is being funded in equal parts by Fairfax County and a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Stormwater Local Assistance grant.

In 2017, supervisors authorized the county executive to sign an agreement with the town that would provide $660,000 for partial financing of the project, according to Inside Nova. As of Dec. 19, 2019, they received six bids for the project, but the initiative’s cost had risen by $333,006. 

Ultimately, the project’s new cost had risen to approximately $1.6 million. On March 24, supervisors agreed to contribute $168,006 more for the initiative. DEQ also raised its contribution to $825,000. Vienna officials will oversee the project’s design and construction and will reimburse the county for any unexpected costs, reported the Inside Nova.

Fairfax County has an agreement with the towns of Herndon and Vienna to finance storm water-related projects in those jurisdictions. Under the partnerships with Vienna and Herndon, the county saves time and administrative costs, according to officials

The county and Vienna have previously partnered on stream-restoration projects along Hunters Branch and Wolftrap Creek.

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About the Author

Cristina Tuser