Taylor Run and Strawberry Run may undergo “Natural Channel Restoration” in the coming months, but some local residents and environmentalists are pushing back.
The City of Alexandria is moving forward with stream restorations of Taylor Run and Strawberry Run, both through “Natural Channel Restoration” methods.
Community associations and environmentalists are inviting residents on a walk of Taylor Run to understand the plans for the waterway and the possible effects from reconstruction.
The walks are this Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon, and it is recommended that attendees wear sturdy shoes, long sleeves/pants and bring bug spray. Walks will start every 15 minutes between, starting at the King Street entrance to Forest Park, in front of the Chinquapin Aquatic Center.
To join a walk, send an email with your preferred start time and number of people attending to rrussell.bailey@gmail.com.
The Taylor Run project covers about 1,900 feet of stream near the Chinquapin Recreation Center and in Chinquapin and Forest Parks. The project is intended to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. According to City officials on the Taylor Run Stream Restoration webpage, “The stream corridor is highly disturbed with severe erosion in various locations along the stream with evidence of downcutting and widening at various locations. Significant amounts of fallen trees, riprap, and debris can be found in the channel. In keeping with the its dedication to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, the City is proposing to use environmentally conscious engineering practices that mimic nature to reconstruct stream banks, encourage native plant growth, and moderate/diminish the impact of streamflow during high-precipitation events.”
The Strawberry Run project would affect about 900 feet of stream west of Fort Williams Parkway. According to the City of Alexandria’s stormwater team, “Ongoing erosion along the stream banks [at Strawberry Run] is deteriorating water quality and threatening existing infrastructure.”
(See a map of the park areas affected below.)
The projects, by the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality and Alexandria resident’s storm water fees, could improve water quality, provide habitat for animals and reduce the likelihood of flooding during downpours. However, the method for restoration itself is controversial.
Controversial Restoration Method Under Consideration
Natural Channel Restoration (NCR) is a method that has the potential to reduce pollution loads on local streams, ultimately benefitting Chesapeake Bay health.
NCR is a way to restore the historic, naturally-occurring path of a waterway before humans and our development intervened — but this usually requires heavy equipment, removing trees and fundamentally changing draining flows, all of which can cause environmental damage.
According to a paper from the American Geophysical Union, “The river engineering works carried out for single-purpose objectives, such as navigation, flood control, flood alleviation and channel stabilization, have destroyed the conservation and amenity value of riverine areas.”
NCR seeks to “fix” rivers and bring them back to a more “natural” state.
“What can be done practically, however, is to emulate natural stable rivers that exist under the present boundary conditions and driving variables reflected in their watersheds. By designing with nature rather than against it, such approaches are more likely to be cost-effective, require less maintenance and minimize environmental impacts compared to traditional engineering solutions,” according to the paper.
Locally, some environmentalists are not convinced that local waterways need to be restored in the first place.
The removal of trees — the number is up for debate between “dozens” and “hundreds” — is of particular concern to some residents and environmentalists, who point out that trees help reduce the risk for flooding and help clean the environment, Even dead trees have a role in the larger ecosystem. Further, the vegetation and streambank armoring with boulders years ago at Taylor Run are doing their job and ‘restoration’ is not necessary at this time.
In addition, local environmentalists are questioning whether the streams have enough pollution to justify restoration this way.
In an educational presentation to the Seminary Hill Association, R. H. Simmons noted the removal of trees at Taylor Run in particular will expose the currently shaded, forested stream, which could destroy aquatic macroinvertebrates and fauna that require forested conditions for survival. Shaded streams are cooler, allowing the water to hold more oxygen.
In addition, the rare and valuable acidic seepage swamp could be destroyed, which as a forested wetland also depends on the mature tree canopy for survival.
Further, a channel restoration at Winkler Run in Alexandria essentially created space for invasive species to move in — something environmentalists are concerned could happen elsewhere, as well.
The total costs are estimated at $4.5 million for Taylor Run; $2.255 million came from the VDEQ. The Strawberry Run project is estimated at $1.6 million; half came from VDEQ grants.
Chinquapin Park (in orange) and Forest Park (in yellow), provided by the City of Alexandria via Google Maps.
