Input On Future Of Lake Accotink Park Requested By Fairfax County

SPRINGFIELD, VA — Fairfax County is seeking feedback on the county staff’s recommendation not to dredge Lake Accotink and to learn what residents want to see as the future of Lake Accotink Park.

The online Lake Accotink Community Survey will remain accessible until April 1, giving residents time to offer feedback and comments and ask questions following recent meetings on the future of Lake Accotink.

At two February meetings, county staff recommended that Lake Accotink not be dredged due to costs and community and environmental impacts. County staff also recommended that the master planning for the park resume this year to create a clear vision for Lake Accotink Park.

Lake Accotink Park includes 482 acres of natural resources, trails, picnic areas, and waterfront activities. The 55-acre Lake Accotink is a man-made reservoir built by the U.S. Army in 1943.

Because Lake Accotink is a man-made lake in the middle of a densely-developed 40-square-mile watershed, it has required regular dredging in order to remove sediment. The most recent dredge took place in 2008.

READ ALSO: New Plans For Lake Accotink As County Finds Dredging Not Feasible

In 2019, Fairfax County staff developed a dredging plan that was presented to the community and endorsed by the Board of Supervisors. That plan was to dredge 350,000 cubic yards of sediment, pump it to the Wakefield Park power line easement area to be dried, and remove the dried material by truck to a disposal site at a total cost of $30 million.

"When it became apparent in 2016 that the lake would need to be dredged in order to maintain an open, boatable resource, there were many unknowns and a different economy," county staff said in the new community survey.

Analysis since 2021 has revealed that it would cost about $95 million to conduct a base dredge, and an additional $300 million over the first 20 years of maintenance dredging. Also, 43 percent more sediment would need to be removed, resulting in 50,000 truck trips on neighborhood and area roads and seven acres of forested wetlands would need to be removed from Wakefield Park to handle the sediment, county staff said.

Based on the new analysis, Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services staff is recommending that the lake not be dredged and that a new Lake Accotink Park Master Planning process be restarted, with an emphasis on working with the community to develop a new vision for the lake and the park.

Department of Public Works staff said the purpose of the survey is to gain "invaluable insight from the community and visitors about their vision for Lake Accotink Park."