City of Alexandria
The Taylor Run Stream Restoration project has raised major concerns among local residents and environmentalists. The largest concerns voiced are potential damage to the stream’s ecosystem by removal of trees and disturbance of wetlands, including rare ecosystem features.
The City is advocating the Taylor Run project to address stormwater issues along 1,900 feet of stream located near the Chinquapin Recreation Center and in Chinquapin and Forest Parks.
The current plan to address these issues is by a Natural Channel Restoration method. Proposed construction is supposed to begin in the Fall of 2021 and is expected to last 12 months. The cost of the project is estimated at $4.5 million with half of it being funded by a Stormwater Local Assistance Fund grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
At a virtual meeting on Tuesday night, City staff and other experts and consultants addressed some of these concerns with the public.
The meeting opened up with a review of why the proposed project is necessary, according to local officials: Polluted stormwater runoff from hard surfaces, exacerbated by the lack of impervious surfaces due to development, is making its way into streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. An increase in heavy rainfall events has created erosion, sediment loss, blockages and an overall lack of stability along Taylor Run. The Natural Channel Restoration project of the stream seeks to restore the healthy stream characteristics as closely as possible while protecting the sanitary sewer infrastructure that exists in the area.
Presenters said that 269 of the 750 trees surveyed would be affected by the project but that most of these trees are dead or will be dead if the stream is not restored. The remaining trees pose a threat to the sanitary sewer infrastructure.
As part of the project, the impacted trees will be replaced with the reseeding of more than 30 native species and the planting of 10,935 native trees and shrubs with dens regrowth expected within three years. Post construction monitoring of invasive species and survival of the new plants will be required.
Andrew Macdonald, chair of the Environmental Council of Alexandria, said after Tuesday night's meeting, that he was not satisified with the plans for Taylor Run.
"They have completely overlooked the root problem of water quality in the watershed. Those problems are located upstream, where there is too much development," Macdonald said. "You can only do so much downstream to reduce the impact of too much water flowing into the system. The likelihood is that we will right back where we were in a few years, if they go ahead with the current design of the project. Their project will destroy an enormous amount of the existing ecosystem that also important to the health of the Bay."
City officials said that project plans have been adjusted to avoid disturbance to the wetlands, an acidic seepage swamp located along the stream. A proposed pedestrian bypass and chainlink fence were eliminated.
The presentation wrapped up with examples of similar Natural Channel Restoration projects that have been completed in Virginia including Snakeden Branch in Fairfax County, Arlington National Cemetery and Towne Branch in Christiansburg, Virginia.
In the meantime, the ECA is advocating for city officials to hire their advisor, John Field, a fluvial geomorphologist, to adjust the plans.
City staff are accepting feedback on the project through Oct 23 with another public meeting planned for November. View the presentation from Tuesday’s meeting here.
