Arlington Urges Residents To Avoid Four Mile Run After Dumping

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington County Department of Environmental Services issued an alert Thursday afternoon advising residents and their pets to avoid Four Mile Run downstream of N. Ohio Street due to a dumping incident near Interstate 66.

The alert, issued around 3 p.m. on Thursday, will remain in effect for the next 48 to 72 hours, the county said.

"The matter is still under investigation but paint or something similar went into a storm drain from a roll-off dumpster being swapped out at a home where work is taking place," Peter Golkin, spokesman for the Arlington Department of Environmental Services, said in an email to Patch.

Golkin said the spill was reported by residents who live near Four Mile Run.

"As we point out often, there are no filters on Arlington’s storm drains and whatever goes in comes out in our streams and the watershed," Golkin said. "People need to be careful."

Four Mile Run is a 9.2-mile-long tributary of the Potomac River that flows from Fairfax south through Arlington and Alexandria.

Water contamination advisories are not uncommon for Four Mile Run in Arlington due to the dense housing development along the creek.

For future incidents, residents can contact the Emergency Communications Center immediately at 703-558-2222 if they see pollution, dumping, discharge, or discoloration in an Arlington County stream.