Politics & Government

Project to Lessen Impact of Storm Water Runoff at Runnymede Park

A bio retention facility and rain gardens are being constructed on a parcel of land across from Runnymede Park to help decrease erosion in the park

Residents driving down Herndon Parkway near Runnymede Park may have noticed some changes on a plot of land that is across from the park.

The Town of Herndon is working to construct bio retention facilities to lessen the impact of storm water runoff.

Bob Boxer, the director of Herndon’s department of public works, said the project started a few weeks ago and has been in the plans for several years. The parcel of land owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation, which donated the land to the town for the purpose of storm water management.

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Boxer said he and Town Forester John Dudzinsky met with local residents at the site before the project started to address their concerns. Trees had to be removed during the process and he said both the town and local residents have been concerned about saving as many trees as possible.

Boxer said the project’s aim is to lessen the impact of storm water runoff on Runnymede Park. He said the water that comes down from the housing development runs across Herndon Parkway and empties into the park causing siltation and erosion in the park.

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The project will include a bio retention facility to help slow down storm water runoff to a pace that will not harm Runnymede Park, he said.

Boxer said they are using a state-of-the-art approach with rain gardens and bio retention facilities, and the area will also have a kiosk where local residents can learn more about storm water management and how the bio retention facility works.

The facility will run the water through different types of soil and filters to be cleaned before it enters the Sugarland Run Stream, Boxer said.

The project’s total cost is about $190,000, but the town’s share is about half of that, Boxer said. The town received a loan for about half the project’s cost from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Boxer said the town did have to clear trees from the land, though they tried to keep a buffer between the parcel and the nearby homes. He said the town has also been working closely with the Friends of Runnymede.

Boxer said the shaping of the pond and physical construction will be complete by mid-August, and landscaping will likely take place in September. He said they will work with local residents to get their feedback prior to planting.

Dave Swan, president of the Friends of Runnymede Park, said local residents, John Denoyer and Ann Csonka, identified the issue of storm water retention at Runnymede Park more than a decade ago. He said they found that many mature, bottomland forest trees were dying from over saturated soils at the park.

“When the Herndon Parkway had been completed, the runoff from both the newly widened road and the impervious surfaces of the condominium complex directly across from the park was the culprit,” Swan said. He said had the condo complex been built today, a storm water retention pond on that parcel of land would have been code mandated.

“One of the retention pond’s primary purposes is to protect the more mature trees in Runnymede Park,” Swan said. “As such, the Friends of Runnymede Park has supported this project and kept an active interest in it for years.”

“When the Town got the final go ahead to do the project, I, as a representative of the Friends of Runnymede Park, was invited to review the site with the Project Manager and Engineer to minimize the impact on the most mature hardwood trees on the site,” Swan said. He said they identified three large oak trees to be protected, which have all been preserved, including protection of the roots of those trees.

Swan said though he is rarely pleased with the loss of any trees from any site, the removal of the trees on the parcel of land is for a much greater good that will be provided by the retention pond.


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