A small algae bloom has taken over some parts of Lake Audubon.

Reston Association is asking members to avoid contact with the water, which could contain algae that is “potentially harmful.” Pet owners should also make sure their pets avoid ingesting or coming into contact with the water.

The association has no immediate plans to treat the algae, which frequently makes appearances at the lake at the end of the summer.

“Forecasted rain and cooler temperatures will improve the conditions of the lake,” according to RA.

Although algae blooms are common, a major algae bloom at Lake Thoreau has raised concerns about overall lake management and environmental health. RA plans to host a special meeting about the bloom at Lake Thoreau later this month.

Photo by Marjorie Copson

The dog days of summer deserve a day just for the dogs before the pool season ends.

Reston Association is hosting a dog paddle next weekend. Residents can bring their dog for a dip in the pool at North Hills on Saturday, August 29 and at Dogwood on Sunday, August 30. Both events take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Access to the pool is reserved on a 45-minute visit that begins at the top of each hour. Although people are not allowing in the water with the dogs, four people can accompany each dog to the facility. Dogs must remain under control at all times or will be asked to leave without a refund. Female dogs in heat are not allowed.

Face masks — for humans only — are required at all times. The fee is $10 per dog for RA members and $15 for all others.

Registration is open via RA’s Webtrac system. Pre-registration is required and the event will be cancelled in the event of rain.

Active dog licenses are required before entering the facility. RA reserved the right to density admission to any patron or dog owner.

Photo courtesy Sammy Monaghan for RA

Reston Association will host a meeting later this month to discuss the environmental health of Lake Thoreau.

The meeting announcement follows a major algae bloom at the lake, which prompted RA to urge residents to avoid contact with the water.

RA will meet virtually on Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom to discuss the overall health of the lake. RA CEO Hank Lynch and COO Larry Butler will discuss recent test results and the longterm plan for managing the bloom.

RA’s longtime vendor, Aquatic Environment Consultants, will present data on the treatment of the lake and data collection. The association’s Environmental Advisory Committee chair Doug Britt will also discuss issues related to the lake.

RA may also consider exploring how future management practices will impact the 2021 budget and future budgets.

Although lab results do not indicate the algae bloom contains toxic levels of microsystins, the algal species does have the ability to produce toxins if concentrations are high enough.

RA expects the dying Hydrilla plant — which the association treated in late July — will sink to the bottom of the lake as it dies over the next several weeks.

Photo by Jeannine Santoro

County Seeks Election Officers — The Fairfax County Office of Elections is hiring 200 additional seasonal staff to process mailed absentee ballots, work at in-person voting locations or provide office assistance. [Fairfax County Government]

Reston Association to Host Listening Sessions — RA is hosting five district listening sessions via Zoom over the coming months. An at-large meeting is set for Oct. 15. [RA]

Look out for Jury Questionnaire — Roughly 59,000 Fairfax County or City of Fairfax residents will receive a jury questionnaire in the mail. This does not mean you are being summoned for jury duty. [Fairfax County Government]

Photo by Marjorie Copson

Lab results indicate that a major algae bloom at Lake Thoreau is not toxic. But Reston Association is still encouraging residents to still avoid contact with the water, which has been consumed by the bloom and a dying clumps of the Hydrilla plant.

In a statement, RA said the results “do not at this time detect potentially toxic levels of microcystins in the sample provided.” The algal species does have the ability to produce the toxins if concentrations are high enough.  Residents should stay clear of the water until conditions return to normal. Some algae can cause skin rashes and gastrointestinal illnesses.

RA tried to control the growth of the Hydrilla plant through chemical treatment in late July, which may have created conditions for the algae bloom to thrive. The association noted that the treatment, which some criticized was done so too late into the summer season, did not cause the algae bloom. Other contributing factors include rain, runoff, water temperature, and the amount of nitrogen in the lake.

Local residents have launched an online petition calling on RA to clean up the lake and create a long-term plan to support its health. The petition has 86 signatures thus far.

Algae blooms, Hydrilla infestations, and other issues have bogged down the lake for several years. Some members say RA has failed to create a long-term plan to preserve the lake’s health.

The petition urges RA’s Board of Directors to fund the cleanup of the decaying Hydrilla, set up a community meeting to address concerns, establish a working group regarding the lake, and “hold people accountable for the mismanagement of this important community resource.”

RA has no immediate plans to clean up the dying Hydrilla, which it says will sink to the bottom of the lake over the next several weeks. The association also noted that treating the bloom as the Hydrilla plant dies could compromise oxygen levels at the lake and endanger aquatic life at the lake.

Photo by Jeannine Santoro

Reston Association’s proposal to repurpose the Hunters Woods Ball into a more welcoming community area is moving forward.

The association is working with Kimley-Horn Associates to activate the site. A pathway is proposed around the perimeter of the site, along with a walkway that cuts through the area.

“The purpose is to activate the site and make it more usable and interesting to the surrounding neighborhoods,” RA wrote in its proposal.

Community features like a rain garden, library book share, landscaping, and a mile marker sign are also proposed on the site.

The plan heads to RA’s Design Review Board for a vote on tomorrow (Tuesday). Because the proposal impacts a significant area of the site, a minor site plan is required for approval.

RA worked with neighboring property owners and associations to move forward with the project.

In written testimony submitted to the DRB, the Hunters Woods Village Condominium Association voiced its full support for the project.

“The repurposed ballfield can be a great example of RA listening to its neighborhoods and moving forward smartly,” wrote Julia Doherty.

Doherty added that the proposed design makes good use of the area’s natural beauty and creates a welcome educational space near a stormwater collection area. The proposed walkway also gives residents more options to walk in the area beyond the parking lot of the condominium.

The complete proposal is available online.

Photo via handout/RA

Reston Association‘s Board of Directors will hold a special meeting next. Week to discuss budgetary matters.

The board will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 19 to discuss the formation of the fiscal year 2021 budget.

RA CEO Hank Lynch is set to offer information about assumptions related to the budget, which will be formed with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laura Kowalski, RA’s director of recreation and environmental education, will also present information about her department’s request for parks and recreation.

The meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Log-in information is available online. RA’s fiscal committee will also participate in the meeting.

Reston Association is encouraging residents to avoid contact with Lake Thoreau after a major algae bloom has taken over parts of the lake.

Lab testing is underway to determine if the algae bloom is harmful. Residents should avoid contact with the water until algae concentrations return to “acceptable levels,” according to a statement released by RA last night (Wednesday).

It’s unclear if the bloom was directly caused by RA’s recent treatment of the lake for Hydrilla, an invasive plant that had taken over roughly 30 percent of the lake. Typically, algae blooms thrive when there are more nutrients available for algae growth.

Some RA members criticized the association for attempting to treat the lake late in the summer season.

“I’m at a loss how the RA dumped a bunch of chemicals into a healthy lake without thinking through the consequences of the outcome,” one RA member wrote on Facebook.

Others called the issue a “man-made” problem.

“The algae bloom is due to the irresponsible decision to treat the entire lake at one time for hydrilla growth very late into the season when temperatures were at an all time high! This is not a natural occurrence but a man-made problem,” an RA member wrote.

Jeannine Santoro said she’s at a loss for how “RA dumped a bunch of chemicals into a healthy lake without thinking through the consequences of the outcome.”

Here’s more from RA told Reston Now on whether the Hydrilla treatment caused the bloom:

Algae blooms can be caused as a result of multiple factors. This includes water temperature, air temperature, amount of nitrogen and phosphorous present in the lake, amount of rain, and runoff from the Watershed that can carry fertilizers. The main sources of nutrients are runoff from the watershed and phosphorous released from the anerobic zone of the lake. Anerobic decomposition releases phosphorous. While the hydrilla may be contributing, it is not the causal factor.

RA acknowledged that summer is not the best time period to treat the lake. But the association wanted to see if the grass carp would impact the Hydrilla plant before using herbicide management methods. The dying hydrilla is expected to sink to the bottom of the lake and decay in the next few weeks.

Harmful algae can cause skin rashes and gastrointestinal illnesses. Anyone concerned about the effects of exposure to a bloom should contact the Virginia Harmful Algal Bloom hotline at 1-888-238-6154.

In previous years, RA stocked more grass carp — a freshwater fish species — to help control the plant. But after the fish proved ineffective, RA hired a contractor to treat the Hydrilla, which has floated to the surface after the July 29 treatment.

RA believes the blue-green algae bloom happened as Hydrilla plant began to die, creating conditions primed for the bloom to thrive.

“The blue-green algae bloom in Lake Thoreau has the potential, if concentrations are high enough, to provide microsystins, which can be harmful to both humans and pets,” RA wrote in a statement.

The decomposing Hydrilla on the surface of the water will sink to the lake bottom and decay within the next few weeks. For this reason, the association is not removing the decomposing hydrilla.

RA currently has no plans to treat the bloom until more appropriate conditions — cooler air and water temperature — occur. Treating the bloom as the Hyrdilla plant dies could compromise the dissolved oxygen levels at the lake and put aquatic life in danger.

In the future, RA hopes to explore better ways to manage aquatic plants on the lake.

One option includes treating the plants easy in the season when they begin to come up. This would require three low-dosage treatments — a decision that must “must be made way before the plants are a problem,” RA said.

RA did not treat the water earlier this year because the grass carp were stocked in 2018.

Photos courtesy Jeannine Santoro and staff

A $1 million project to restore 750 feet of Snakeden Branch at Lake Audubon is nearly complete.

In a recent Reston Association video, staff indicated that construction on the project — which is critical to prevent erosion and effectively channel stormwater — is expected to be completed sometime this week.

The restoration project, which was requested by RA members, will protect the area’s sanitary sewer system, improve water quality, and boost the wildlife habitat, according to Meghan Fellows, a project manager with the county’s stormwater planning division.

Major erosion caused the branch to become “white water rapids” in the event of rain, Fellows said.

The county, which already reforested part of the area in the spring, will provide more plantings in the fall. The restoration area is focused on the area between South Lakes Drive, Wakerbin Lane, Cedar Cove Court and Lake Audubon. Construction began in October 2019.

RA and county staff will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the stream restoration project in the coming months, according to William Peterson, RA’s watershed manager.

Fellows noted that the project is primarily intended to ensure the stream can handle stormwater and provide stability to the surrounding wildlife, given then nearly 48 percent of it is composed of impervious surface.

Prior to the project’s completion, eight sanitary lines were exposed.

Video via RA