A Reston resident and former South Lakes High School parent is using her interest in photography to fundraise for the school’s next public art sculpture on Lake Thoreau’s spillway.
Mary Prochnow, who recently retired from a career in systems engineering, has donated her nature photographs, for a calendar that can be purchased to help raise money for the students’ work. Each year, students from the school’s Science, Technology Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) club create a public art piece on the spillway.
“Knowing that funding this project is always a challenge and that it is entirely independently funded, I was looking for an easy way for anyone who enjoys the artwork to be able to help support the effort,” Prochnow said.
All proceeds from calendar purchases will go toward pushing materials for the sculpture, which will likely be installed in the summer of next year. Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association and Red’s Table, a restaurant, will cover the costs of printing the calendar.
Phoebe Avery, Public Art Reston‘s public art manager, said her organization was humbled by the support of Prochnow, her husband who runs the entertainment association and Ryan Tracy of Red’s Table, for supporting the students’ work.
“Along with our program partners at Reston Association, we have been gratified to watch the STEAM Team grow from four participants to more than 30 students each year,” Avery wrote in a statement.
Two SLHS students — Nava Mehrpour and David Raw — joined Public Art Reston’s public art committee to handpick several of 72 photographers by Prochnow for the calendar.
Marco Rando, an art teacher at the school and the STEAM teaam’s program advisor, said he was ecstatic that Prochnow offered to help fundraise for the effort.
“Using art to support art could not be a more appropriate concept. In addition, the suggestion to engage in an aesthetic gathering with STEAM students to choose her photos for the calendar was a beautiful layer of educational collaboration,” he said.
Rando and Public Art Reston did not immediately return requests for comment on what next year’s public art will look like or where the project is in the development phase.
Residents have until Oct. 31 to donate to the project in order to receive a calendar gift. A minimum donation of $20 is suggested.
The STEAM team has brought public art to life on the spillway, with projects like Spectrum in 2019 and Simon in 2016.
Photo via Public Art Reston
Reston Association to Host Budget Hearing — RA is holding a public hearing on its budget today at 7 p.m. The meeting is virtual. So far, the organization’s board is considering an increase in next year’s assessment. Tentatively, the draft budget also includes roughly $1.8 million for the renovation of Lake Thoreau pool. [RA]
Night of Lights Comes to Roer’s Zoofari — The LuminoCity festival brings an array of lights to the zoo from Friday through Jan. 2. This is the organization’s first annual event but this is the first time the show ic coming to a location outside of the New York area. [LuminoCity]
Reston Company Partners with Sports Teams and Leagues — Zoomph, a Reston-based company, is partnering with sports leagues and teams to analyze social media initiatives. The company has clients like NASCAR and the Team Liquid e0sports league. [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Reston Association is putting together a five-year plan for capital improvement projects as a number of decades-old facilities are in need of upgrades.
At last week’s Board of Directors meeting, staff provided a draft that details the capital improvement projects facing the organization over the next five years.
In much the same vein as one put together by other localities like the town of Herndon, the document will detail the cost, timeline, and designs of both major projects — ones that will cost over $500,000 — and minor ones.
“It includes a strategic plan…how we currently fund our projects, what are the major projects, and outlines all capital spending,” RA Director of Capital Projects Chris Schumaker said.
While the draft was provided to board members, it is not expected to be made public until before the Board of Directors budget work session on Aug. 18, when it will be discussed more at length, confirms RA spokesperson Mike Leone.
This plan comes at a vital time for RA, as the board engages in a series of budget work sessions that could result in an increase in assessments for members.
The potential increase is being contemplated due to a rise in operating expenses and the number of capital improvement projects that are being undertaken over the next several years. Back in March, a recreation facility work group determined that some of RA’s decades-old facilities are in dire need of renovations and work.
There are currently eight active capital projects and another 30 that are scheduled, according to RA’s website.
The ongoing projects include the Hook Road tennis courts, which are expected to be completed by mid-August.
The renovations will turn two tennis courts into pickleball courts, which are expected to be completed in time for Reston’s first “Paddle Battle” tournament. In addition, construction on four footbridges will start next month and be completed early next year, Leone tells Reston Now.
There’s also the much-discussed renovation of Lake Thoreau pool, which received final approval from RA’s design review board last week. Construction on the $3.5 million project is now supposed to start in November — a four-month delay from initial estimates — with a grand opening expected for May 2023.
While new pools may be opening, there’s a chance several may be closing.
In May, RA staff recommended that four neighborhood pools be “seriously considered for repurposing,” which could mean closure, due to budgetary concerns and low usage. RA is currently collecting community feedback on that proposal.
The Reston Association Design Review Board gave its final approval to the $3.5 million renovation of Lake Thoreau pool, though with a request to see a color sample.
The approval at the design review board meeting on Tuesday (July 20) keeps the project on track for construction to begin in October or November, RA spokesperson Mike Leone confirms to Reston Now in an email.
This is the third time the RA Design Board has approved the much-discussed project, but final approvals meant reviewing the exact dimensions, materials, and colors that will be used.
While the motion to approve the application passed unanimously, it came with a request for a physical sample of the teal color that would be used for a railing.
Besides colors and railings, there was some discussion at the meeting about fencing as well as the cost of redesigning and maintaining the overlook deck.
However, none of that held up approval, allowing the multi-million dollar pool project to move forward.
Leone writes that RA is already going on to the next steps of the renovation process, including moving through the estimation and procurement phase.
“We have already released the RFP (request for proposal) to potential contractors and are awaiting their submissions due around this time next month,” writes Leone. “With that information, RA staff will be able to generate a final estimate for the project and seek Board of Director approval to move forward with construction.”
He anticipates the RA Board’s approval of the project to come in September with construction to begin shortly after, barring any more contractor or material availability-related delays.
Key design elements of the renovation include ADA access with a ramp into the pool, a redesign of the overlook deck, pool reconstruction, expansion of the parking lot, and repositioning of the spa away from the bathhouses as well as modifying and expansion of said bathhouses.
Lake Thoreau pool was closed last year for renovations that are expected to be completed in the fall of 2022. A grand opening is being planned for May or June 2023, the beginning of the pool season.
Designs for the $3.5 million renovation of Lake Thoreau pool were approved by the Reston Association Design Review Board last night (June 22), keeping the project on track for construction in the fall.
The board ratified several key design elements, including a re-working of the roof, ADA access with a ramp into the main pool, a repositioning of the spa away from the bathhouses, and a redesign of the overlook deck.
Since these plans were last brought to the design review board in March, RA staff had tweaked the roof, spa location, and additional seating for the zero-depth pool area. The update also further extended the ADA ramp into the pool, reduced the size of the overlook area, and limited the profiles of the walkways going down towards the lake.
Overall, the revised plans were met with approval and enthusiasm from the design review board.
A substantial portion of the discussion was around the roof line and architecture of the new pool house. The concept that was agreed upon — called concept 2a — included vertical columns, which are mostly for aesthetics.
“[It] has a little more architectural detail than the other ones, which are more simple overhangs,” said Michael Wood, architect and Design Review Board member. “Our pool houses are all unique at all of our pools. So, to me, that’s a good stance.”
RA Director of Capital Projects Chris Schumaker said that staff is “continuing to refine” the pool house’s interior layout to accommodate storage and provide better accessibility to patrons.
“We tweaked the front office to provide a more welcoming entryway,” Schumaker said.
There are also plans for a pollinator garden, “artistic” birdhouses, and public art.
“We are working with the public art community right now…to come up with some request for proposals,” Schumaker said.
Now that the plan has passed the design review board, the next step is to get the RA Board of Directors’ approval. Then, RA plans to hire a contractor that will provide its own insight and expertise before sending the designs to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
RA hopes to get a contractor approved by the RA Board by August or September, but the multi-million dollar pool renovation has hit several recent roadblocks, including soaring material costs and a lack of contractor availability.
The project’s cost has also been a sore spot ever since it began last year.
Nonetheless, with this approval, construction could still potentially start in October or November, with completion anticipated in the fall of 2022 and a grand reopening at the beginning of the 2023 pool season.
The $3.5 million renovation of Reston Association’s Lake Thoreau pool has hit more roadblocks, this time due to lack of contractor availability and soaring material costs.
Already three months behind initial estimates, an October groundbreaking remains the official goal, but there’s a likelihood that the date will be pushed back again.
“Due to the volatility of the construction market, narrowing down the final estimate for this project is challenging,” RA spokesperson Mike Leone told Reston Now in an email. “Assuming the timeline holds, construction would start around October but there is a possibility it could be pushed into November.”
RA recently sent out requests to 10 contractors for pre-qualifying bids on the project, but the association received only two responses.
“This is a little bit disappointing, but indicative of the market that many, many contractors are very, very busy,” Chief Operating Officer Larry Butler said at RA’s Board of Directors meeting last Thursday (May 27).
Butler said the hope is to bring on a contractor when the project design and development are 80% complete, so the contractor can provide their own insight and expertise before sending it to Fairfax County for approval.
Leone says it’s expected that a contract with a general contractor will be ready for review and approval by the RA board in August or September.
Another element currently complicating the project is fast-rising material costs. Butler notes that the $3.5 million project budget was established prior to the recent spike in material costs.
“Here’s a really crazy example…There’s a lot of piping in pools. PVC costs are up 270% from March 2020 to March 2021,” Butler explained.
The hope is that prices will stabilize and drop, but “it’s an ever-moving target,” he says.
The overall cost of the renovations and the means of paying for them have been an ongoing source of conflict since the project first started in late 2019. The project is now rather lean, though at least one RA board member was asking about the potential for further cuts.
The issues with the Lake Thoreau renovations come as RA contemplates raising member assessments and, possibly, repurposing other pools due to ongoing budgetary challenges.
Key design elements being added or modified at Lake Thoreau pool include ADA access to the main pool, re-working of the roof geometry, a zero-depth area, a repositioning of the spa away from the bathhouses, and a redesign of the overlook deck. A pollinator garden will also be added near the parking lot.
The renovations are expected to be completed about a year after construction begins, so that could be in October or November 2022. A grand reopening of Lake Thoreau pool is anticipated in May 2023.
However, Leone cautions that the timing could change.
“If the start of construction is delayed for whatever reason, then there is a chance the grand re-opening could be delayed,” he told Reston Now.
Photo via Reston Association
A new sculpture installed on Lake Thoreau late last month was designed and built by South Lake High School students, a tradition that dates back to 2014.
“Part and Parcel” was developed by about 20 students on the South Lakes High School STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Team.
Made primarily from repurposed PVC piping from a previous Reston Station project, the sculpture’s design and name were envisioned as a metaphor for how each part of society is needed in order to create one that’s functioning and whole.
“I hope people are left with a sense of joy and hopefulness after seeing Part and Parcel,” Ann Ehrlich, a member of the STEAM team, wrote in an email to Reston Now. “We were able to present a lovely piece of art to the community during such a rough time and I hope they can see that even during difficult times, some beauty can arise.”
The sculpture sits on the Lake Thoreau spillway, turning a potential eyesore into a work of art.
“Part and Parcel transforms and activates an otherwise drab concrete platform into something unexpected and visually delightful, both during the day and when lit up at night,” Public Art Reston Program Coordinator Phoebe Avery told Reston Now. “This is what public art is all about.”
Public Art Reston is a longtime sponsor of the project.
This is the seventh sculpture designed and built by the students in the program, which was co-founded by South Lakes art teacher and local artist Marco Rando. The previous one, installed in summer 2019, was called “Spectrum” and was composed of five wooden interlocking prisms.
Rando says that, beyond putting beautiful art in the world, the program also teaches students how to collaborate, take feedback, defend their ideas, and navigate processes that can sometimes be difficult.
“The students see firsthand…the steps of [having] to defend their idea, who they have to defend it to, preparing for a presentation, explain how they’re going to go about building this, and logistics of everything,” Rando said. “They’re getting that professional experience at this wonderful age of learning. It’s shaped a lot of students.”
Team member David Raw agrees that this project provided a glimpse into the professional lives of artists and engineers.
“By working on Part and Parcel, I was given the opportunity to work hand and hand with real art and engineering professionals.,” he wrote to Reston Now. “From contacting material suppliers to assisting helpers put up the final piece on the spillway, I was exposed to the real working environment of professional art.”
Of course, the students had their fair share of challenges this year. The design was first conceived in the fall of 2019, prior to the pandemic, but it had to be tweaked due to public health restrictions. In-person group meetings were sporadic and had to be socially distant. The budget was also significantly lower than in previous years, Rando says.
All of this posed potential problems that the students had to overcome.
“We came into a huge issue with the integrity of the design,” Gwyneth Wagner, one of the students, said. “We had to completely rethink the design of the sculpture and it set us back until our later install date…[but] I think it was for the best because we are all really happy and proud of the sculpture now.”
Wagner’s teammates agree that the extra attention and collaboration paid off.
“Personally, the most rewarding aspect of designing and building this sculpture was being able to collaborate with others,” Sofia Pakhomkina said. “It is always so amazing to watch as a group turns a simple idea into a physical, tangible thing.”
Rando is proud of his students.
“It was perseverance, like I’ve never seen it before,” he says.
“Part and Parcel” is expected to be on display at Lake Thoreau at least through the end of the year.
Virginia to Change Vaccine Scheduling Systems — Fairfax County residents will finally follow the same approach to obtaining COVID-19 vaccine appointments as the rest of the state, as the Virginia Department of Health says its statewide system will also be retired on Sunday (April 18) in favor of self-scheduling through Vaccine Finder. [Patch]
Lawsuit Filed over Virginia’s Unemployment Benefits — “Several legal groups filed a federal class-action suit on Thursday against the Virginia Employment Commission for its failure to reach residents with unemployment benefits, and abruptly cutting off payments to others without explanation.” [DCist]
Fish Released into Lake Thoreau — Reston Association stocked Lake Thoreau with 80 triploid grass carp this past Sunday (April 18). RA says that the fish are part of its plan to “help manage aquatic plants such as hydrilla” in the lake and must be released if caught while fishing. [RA/Twitter]
Reston Nonprofit to Give Free Food to Those in Need — Cornerstones will hold a free food distribution event tomorrow (Saturday) in the parking lot of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services building at Lake Anne (11484 Washington Plaza West). The grocery bags will contain toiletries as well as fresh produce, and they will be distributed from 10 a.m. to noon, though spaces are limited. [Lake Anne Elementary School]
Hunter Mill District Bike Tour Sold Out — Tickets for the inaugural Tour de Hunter Mill sold out yesterday. Scheduled for May 15, the event will take cyclists on a scenic tour from Reston to Vienna and back, but attendance was capped at 150 riders to ensure social distancing. [Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling/Twitter]
The Reston Association plans to spend more on lake management in 2021 than in previous years.
Lake Anne and Lake Thoreau suffered from constant algae blooms and overgrowth of invasive hydrilla in 2020, according to an RA community discussion last week about the lakes.
To manage those rather typical lake-related issues, the plan is to take a more “proactive” mitigation strategy, but that requires increasing the lake management budget, a possibility that was first discussed last fall in relation to a potentially toxic algae bloom that emerged in Lake Thoreau over the summer.
However, the investment is planning to be substantially more than initially thought.
In 2020, RA spent $17,000 for monitoring and treating lakes. In 2021, the plan is to spend about three times more money — nearly $52,000.
As stated at the March 31 meeting, this is largely due to Lake Thoreau.
Besides algae, Reston’s deepest lake also suffers from overgrowth of hydrilla, an aggressive, invasive aquatic plant that crowds out native species and impedes boating and fish habitats.
“Hydrilla is a big concern in Lake Thoreau,” said Bill Kirkpatrick of Aquatic Environment Consultants, which RA hired to manage the lakes. “Hydrilla grew late in the year, and the treatment was done on an emergency basis. We’ve revisited this and rethought the process.”
The plan is to start treatment early in the growth stage with a low, multiple-dose application of herbicide that is released slowly through clay pellets dropped to the bottom of the lake.
“It’s kinda like taking antibiotics,” Kirkpatrick said. “You don’t take all of it at once…You split it up to keep a certain concentration in your body.”
While this is a more expensive and time consuming way of treating the hydrilla, the hope is that it lasts much longer.
“It should suppress the growth and it never reaches that big die-off phase,” Kirkpatrick said.
While the hydrilla treatment will cost about $19,000 in 2021, the consultant believes that, if it is successful, no further treatment will be needed in 2022 or, perhaps, for several years beyond.
Starting in May, both Lake Thoreau and Lake Anne will be treated with low-dose algeasized concentrations on a monthly basis through September.
“The goal is to control the noxious algaes and allow the beneficial algaes to exist,” Kirkpatrick said.
Aquatic Environment Consultants plans to manage algae in this manner going forward, and the cost of algae treatment in 2022 is expected to remain the same.
All in all, it’s currently being estimated that the budget for lake management in 2022 will be $29,471 — about $22,000 less than RA anticipates spending in 2021.
The budget also includes funds to monitor lake water quality and to manage alligator weed, water primrose, and water lilies on Lake Newport.
The community discussion covered several other lake-related topics as well, including restocking the carp population, a new fishing line recycling program, and managing the Canadian geese population by tracking nests, counting geese, and potentially addling eggs.
“They cause traffic disturbances, they cause damage to people’s property, and they can put a huge amount of nutrients in the lakes, which can cause some of those algae blooms,” RA Watershed Manager Bill Peterson said. “We are not trying to eradicate the geese population, just trying to keep it down to an acceptable level.”
In recent months, the Reston Association has increased the assessment fee by $10, and as noted at the meeting, the boat mooring rate has also gone up.
The potential renovation of Lake Thoreau Pool is coming closer to fruition.
The Reston Association’s Design Review Board will look at a preliminary site plan application for the pool during its March 16 virtual meeting. The application will return to the board for final approval at a later date after comments and requirements for the project are integrated into the design.
The proposed alterations to the pool facility include selective tree removal, the expansion of the parking lot for more parking and ADA accessibility, and additional sidewalks. Other changes include the pool’s reconstruction, including the basin, retaining walls, observation plaza and deck, and modifications and expansions to the existing bathhouse.
Materials, fixtures, colors, landscaping, and artwork for the project will be presented to RA later in the design process, according to the submitted application.
In the proposed concept, the parking lot will include 25 parking spaces with two ADA spaces. The pool house would increase by 348 square feet to 1,375. The site plan also includes a proposed connection to the Lake Thoreau Loop Trail.
RA’s Director of Capital Projects Chris Schumaker said during the board’s Feb. 25 meeting that the project is projected to be three months behind schedule. Schumaker estimated another review by the Design Review Board in mid-July and the contract would head for a board vote in August.
He also estimated the pool project could be completed in October 2022 and a grand reopening could happen in May 2023.
The pool, which was opened in 1981, has been closed due to a compromised retaining wall. The details of the deterioration of the pool were identified to RA in October 2019 in a Terracon report.
RA’s Board of Directors allocated roughly $1.6 million in its 2021 capital budget for the project in October.
Images via handout/Reston Association
The major renovation of Lake Thoreau Pool, which has been closed since last year, is set for a groundbreaking in October.
While the project is on budget, the overall effort is roughly three months behind schedule due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and anticipated delays with the county’s permitting process.
In a presentation to Reston Association’s Board of Directors late last week, Chris Schumaker, RA’s capital projects director, said that while it may be possible to catch up on the project timeline, permitting delays are very common due to the pandemic.
“Things that used to take weeks now take months,” Schumaker said.
In response to a member’s concerns about delays, Schumaker noted that the county is not conducting onsite inspections. Field surveys are being done over the phone, which has slowed things down quite a bit.
Member Michelle Kimmel urged RA to keep the community engaged and informed about the ongoing project.
“Already, our pool has been closed for years,” she said.
After meetings with the community, RA selected a lean design concept for the renovation project that works within the existing footprint of the site. A zero-depth wading pool would be installed on the facility’s deep end, the parking lot would be expanded, and the bathhouse would meet county and federal code requirements for individuals with disabilities. A lounge observation deck is also planned in the new design.
RA is considering replacing a lakeside retaining wall with a metal-framed overlook deck, a move that would significantly decrease the cost of the project. Plans are underway to determine how to integrate a family-use bathroom. The parking lot will have 25 spaces for the time being, according to the presentation.
RA allocated roughly 1.6 million in its 2021 capital budget for the project.
The association is also working through plans for storage options for watercraft.
An initial concept review by the Design Review Board is tentatively set for March 16. After another review by the DRB in mid-July, the contract would head for a vote by the board in August.
Kimley-Horn has been hired as the chief project engineer, along with Lemay Erickson Willcox for building architecture, Councilmen Hunsaker for pool design, GRS Group for surveying, and Terracon for geotechnical work.
So far, roughly 60 percent of the project’s drawings have been completed, along with a geotechnical survey and engineering, a review of existing conditions, and other surveying.
A grand reopening is set for May 2023, although the project will be completed by October of next year.
RA also plans to evaluate the success of the project and review feedback from members towards the end of next year.
Lake Thoreau Pool Work Begins — Contractors will be on-site at Lake Thoreau pool later this week for soil sampling. This step is necessary to begin the engineering and design of the pool’s retaining walls and parking lot. [Reston Association]
County Executive Releases Podcast — County Executive Bryan Hill discusses the COVID-19 pandemic, the search for a new police chief, and the upcoming fiscal year 2022 budget in his latest podcast. [Fairfax County Government]
Reston Songwriter Releases New Single — Singer and songwriter Amanda Cunningham has released a new single about breaking free from bad relationships. [Reston Patch]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
Lake Audubon Pool, operated by Reston Association, is in the midst of renovations. The pool is undergoing re-plastering, the pump and filter are being replaced, and other plumbing is being fixed.
Work began in mid-January and is expected to be completed sometime between mid-April and early May. But weather could delay the project, cautions Mike Leone of Reston Association.
This week work on the Lake Audubon Pool capital project began. This project will involve a full removal (pictured) and re-plaster of the pool, as well as replacing the pool pump, filter, and associated plumbing in totality. The project will be completed by mid to late April. pic.twitter.com/AO40Nul3Ps
— Reston Association (@RestonOnline) January 22, 2021
This is all part of Reston Association’s regular maintenance plan and required for compliance under Fairfax County Health Department code. Plaster coatings have about an eight-to-ten- year service life, writes Leone in an email to Reston Now.
Another Reston Association pool, Lake Thoreau, is also expected to undergo renovations but a funding hang-up has caused delays. The Lake Thoreau Pool project could cost up to $3.5 million.
At this time, it remains unclear when Reston Association pools will open this summer. In 2020, four out of 15 pools opened in late June.
“RA does not have hard dates for the opening of any of our pools for the 2021 summer season,” wrote Leone. “We are planning to open as many facilities as we can this summer.”
As pool season inches closer, updates will be posted on the Reston Association website.
Photo courtesy of Reston Association
A rare winter algae bloom that has both toxic and non-toxic forms has formed over Lake Thoreau.
Reston Association is advising caution after the bloom — known as Aphanizomenon flos-aquae – took over parts of the lake. The bloom is toxic if humans ingest it but dogs can become ill after ingesting or coming in contact with the algae.
The association has no immediate plans to treat the lake until water temperatures are in the upper 50s.
In the latest budget cycle, RA’s Board of Directors significantly increased its funding allotment by 86 percent for lake management and water treatment after major blooms — caused partially by ineffective or delayed water treatment — consumed Lake Thoreau over the summer.
Monthly treatment is expected to begin in the spring as part of RA’s new lake management strategy.
But winter blooms are more uncommon in Reston.
In a statement released today, RA noted that Reston typically does not have algae blooms in the winter because of colder temperatures. Water temperatures have hovered in the upper 30s and lakes have not completely frozen this season.
RA’s spokesman Mike Leone said that the organization has not yet determined the toxicity of the current bloom. He noted that certain species of cyanobacteria are referred to as toxic because they can harm people, pets and wildlife.
‘The current algae bloom has the potential to be toxic but it does not mean that it is toxic all the time. Given the potential though, RA encourages individuals and their pets to avoid contact with water where they see visible algae just to be safe,’ he wrote in a statement to Reston Now.
RA staff found that areas where the algae bloom was before have already been reduced.
Photo via RA
Delayed since mid-December, the Reston Association’s project to inspect and repair Lakes Audubon, Anne, Newport, and Thoreau dams will finally get under way later this month.
In a statement posted to social media, Reston Association will start work on January 25 on the trash racks and riser structure in Lake Audubon. This requires lowering the lake on January 21 and 22, a foot and a half to two feet a day. That work is expected to take a week.
Then, on February 1, the organization will draw down the lake again, this time to a total of eight feet, to allow for a full inspection of the dam infrastructure. It will be drawn down no more than a foot a day, so this work could talk up to one and a half weeks.
Due to this, Lakes Anne, Newport, and Thoreau will also be lowered to prevent spillage.
Later that month, February 15, more dam inspections will be done. This is expected to take until February 24. Once finished, the lake will be allowed to refill naturally which could take up to a few months to happen.
Reston Association asks all residents to provide slack in their moor lines so that boats can lower safely with the water level. The lake bottom will be “deep mud” so do not attempt to walk on it, RA advises.
Every year, the Reston Association performs these inspections and repairs. They are a state requirement, Chris Schumaker, Director of Capital Projects, tells Reston Now via email.
The project was initially pushed due to “delays both in the fabrication and delivery of key materials for the Lake Audubon trash rack and valve replacements,” writes Shumaker.
Update on Lowering of Lake Audubon and Dam Inspections:
After a meeting with our contractor, we have an updated timeline for the upcoming inspections and work on the dams on RA lakes, which will include lowering Lake Audubon.Full details in the image attached. ⬇️
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/1tjwuBT2c8— Reston Association (@RestonOnline) January 12, 2021
Photo via Reston Association/Facebook
