Sediment Control Failures along 495/HOT project.

[kris unger]

Hi all, some pictures from serious sediment control failures at 495/HOT construction sites adjacent to Accotink Creek :
http://hku60.smugmug.com/gallery/8452791_7W7yq

 I've reported the sediment control failures to DCR (Debra Switzer) and DPWES (voicemail). DCR has fwded the information to VDOT, and will be scheduling a followup inspection. Any other suggestions on actions to take? I also emailed Micah Himmel, who's been great at following through on these issues.

Reporting these sites is frustrating because
-They keep on failing, and get band-aid fixes that hold up until the next strong rain.
-Most of the 495/HOT footprint can't be safely inspected by citizens. VDOT's protocol for monitoring these construction sites does not seem to be adequate, so I imagine that there are a lot of similar looking sites. It's hard to imagine that the 2 tributaries I've been visitting are coincidentally the most dramatic failures of the project.

At the same time, I've very appreciative of the serious attention given to these problems by local gov't agencies. I hope that this will develop into more effective sediment control procedures, and more responsible oversight and design by the responsible parties. The sites documented here clearly need better oversight and attention.

http://hku60.smugmug.com/gallery/8452791_7W7yq - I've written descriptive comments. The pictures were taken on Friday, June 5, 2009.  Please forward this as you see fit. I can be reached at 703-527-2457..

Here's a link to the approximate location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&sll=37.649034,-95.712891&sspn=29.64251,48.076172&ie=UTF8&ll=38.844103,-77.220497&spn=0.003576,0.005869&t=h&z=17

This is a site that has been reported several times previously. Based on the failures of the repeated repair attempts, I don't feel that the current techniques being used are adequate, and recommend that more robust sediment control structures be put in place. I'm very concerned that such a sensitive site, adjacent to a stream valley and a healthy forest, which has been reported several times previously, has not received adequate attention.

The contrast between this site, and sediment control structures in place along the ICC (Intercounty Connector), in Montgomery County, are dramatic: http://picasaweb.google.com/Michael.Darzi/ICCRockCreek#5342104706255467634

Areas adjacent to streams were protected by 2 layers of reinforced silt fences, and exposed slopes showed none of the collapses and erosion that I have witnessed repeatedly along the 495/HOT footprint. Nor did I see any sediment control failures at this site. It's clearly *possible* to do construction projects of this magnitude without negatively affecting adjacent watersheds on the scale that the 495/HOT project has.