Developer Fund Will Pay For Two Reston Association Stream Restoration Projects

Reston Association will soon begin stream restoration projects on two eroded stream areas in Hickory Cluster and near Wiehle Avenue.

The work will begin in September and should be finished by the summer of 2017, Reston Association officials said in a release.

The cost of the projects will be about $4 million, but the costs will not be paid with RA funds. The money will come from the Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank (NVSRB), which collects money from developers who must mitigate unavoidable stream impacts on their projects.

Reston’s stream restoration project was approved in 2006, began in 2008 and continued through 2011 before funding became more limited.

The two sections about to start were previously approved by RA and its Design Review Board. With money now available for the work, and DRB approval already in place, a letter of intent to finance the restoration of the two stream reaches was signed by the NVSRB.

The project will be managed by Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc., which handles many lake- and stream-related work for RA, including stream restoration work in Reston at Snakeden Branch, Colvin Run and the Glade.

Information about the restorations of the two streams will be presented to the DRB at its regular on meeting Tuesday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m. at Reston Association.

RA says there are many benefits of stream restoration, including:

•  Reducing the frequency of lake dredging, saving RA an average of $163,000 per year in dredging costs.
• Making the restored areas safer and more accessible.
• Improving the local environment.
• Protecting infrastructure, including pathways, bridges and utilities.

“This is just a continuation of a project that begin in earnest in 2008,” Larry Butler, RA’s senior director of parks, recreation and community resources, said in a statement. “We think it’s a great thing for Reston, and we will do whatever we can do to meet with residents and explain the project.”

Some trees may be removed as part of the initial restoration work, RA says.

There is additional stream restoration work underway in the area behind Wakerobin and Cedar Cove, where erosion led to a leaking sewage pipe last summer.

Because there is likely to be additional runoff from South Lakes High School’s upcoming construction of a 40,000-square-foot addition, Fairfax County is funding that restoration project.