Starlit Ponds Charrette

Starlit Ponds Community, Fairfax County
Virginia

Town Background

The community of Starlit Ponds is located in the metropolitan Washington, DC area within the city of Fairfax in Fairfax County, Virginia. The County has experienced heavy development during the last 30 years. In 1980 a golf course was developed into the Starlit Ponds subdivision of 135 single-family houses to provide affordable family residences in a region experiencing escalating property values. The developer kept prices down with low-quality infrastructure that upon build-out became the responsibility of the Homeowner's Association (HOA). Building community consensus on issues such as pond repair is difficult because only a handful of residents participate on the HOA Board and many residents are new to the area (and the Country - 40% are recent immigrants), and do not understand the implications of the ponds' situation.

The Issue

Since 1972 Fairfax County has required stormwater quantity management facilities for new developments. In the 1980s and 1990.s the county requirements increased to include water quality control and higher levels of water quantity control. The Starlit Ponds stormwater wet ponds were converted from two existing golf course ponds under the 1972 water quantity regulations, and now need major improvements. The two adjoining ponds (sizes .7 and .3 acres) have been creating problems for the community since 1984, and the lower dam is now at risk of failing.

Currently Fairfax County will only assume responsibility for maintenance of residential dry stormwater ponds and not small wet ponds because of high liability and maintenance costs. The community's cost for dry pond conversion is estimated to be $90,000. Preserving the wet ponds to retain the associated aesthetic, recreational and property value benefits requires a large initial capital investment for retrofitting and dedicated ongoing funds for routine maintenance and periodic dredging. To address this financial demand, the HOA must develop a detailed plan.

The ponds during different seasons

Winter	Fall

The ponds (which drain 40 acres) have accumulated about three feet of sediment and are also invaded by Trapa natans (water chestnut). Trapa natans is a rooted aquatic weed with floating leaves that covers the entire pond surface for much of the summer and creates unsightly conditions. Its thorny seeds also irritate resident waterfowl.

Previous efforts to solve the weed problem have proven unsuccessful. The community chose not to use herbicides for fear of contaminating source water of a commercial nursery immediately downstream. Stocking the ponds with an herbivorous fish, the triploid grass carp, also had little effect. Furthermore, the community has not been in a financial position to spend the estimated cost of dredging to deepen the pond and remove the weed and its seed bank.

These problems have been aggravated by a lack of maintenance. Because of the expenses associated with repairing community roads, pond maintenance has not been a high priority. In 1992 the HOA did not pursue alternatives suggested by an engineering firm (upgrade wet ponds, convert to dry ponds, hybrid solution) because the costs were perceived to be too high. Although the ponds are held in common and discussed in homebuyers' disclosure statements, many residents are surprised to learn that the ponds serve stormwater management purposes and even shocked to learn that the county requires them to maintain the ponds. Many residents feel that since the county and state require the ponds, public agencies should pay for their maintenance. The community, however, is willing to pay some of the repair and maintenance costs for a stormwater management facility which is attractive, at least not an eyesore, and requires little maintenance.

Aesthetic beauty is important to the community, whose periodic pond clean-up events are the only form of routine maintenance. Only about one-tenth of the homes actually have a view of the ponds. The pond area is accessible and has a tot-lot and picnic tables, though it is not clearly defined as a community space, and few residents regularly visit the ponds.

Environmental Context

Starlit Ponds lies in the Accotink watershed which drains into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. A multi-state effort is underway to prevent excess nutrients and sediments from entering the Bay. While initial efforts focused on point-source and shoreline activities, current Bay restoration targets include nonpoint and urban sources of runoff. Funding sources, however, have not yet explicitly targeted privately owned stormwater ponds in Virginia.

Many other older communities in the county and region with aging stormwater ponds will soon face problems similar to those at Starlit Ponds. As this happens, local public agencies will increasingly be asked to provide financial and technical assistance. The situation at Starlit Ponds, therefore, provides a chance to develop a framework for addressing an impending regional environmental finance problem.

State law gives the county jurisdiction for stormwater management, and last year Fairfax received an NPDES permit. Recently the county has been supporting wet ponds in new developments, but only if the pond is large enough (typically 50-300 acres) to accept runoff from existing neighboring developments and serve as a regional facility. The county is also becoming increasingly interested in water quality improvements, but must approve a waiver if the community chooses to alter its stormwater structures from their original water quantity design.

Project Financing

A 1992 engineering report estimated the costs for converting the ponds to dry ponds at $65,000; repairing and retaining the wet ponds at $112,000; and a hybrid (wet & dry ponds) option at $105,000. Estimates in 1998 for this work as written are about $20,000 higher. The bulk of the costs associated with the plans comes from hauling the dredge material to an approved disposal location.

In order to repair community infrastructure the HOA has doubled dues in the last five years to $700. 85% of the budget is spent on trash haul, while capital reserve funds (estimated at $43,000 in 1998) are targeted to the roads. Road repair is expected to cost between $200,000 and $300,000 over the next 3-5 years. In order to raise dues beyond 5% each year, a quorum of homeowners must give approval.

Recommendations and Observations

• The upper pond may not be needed for water storage requirements, but creating a wetland or forebay there would serve to control water quality by retaining sediments and nutrients.

• Keeping dredge material on-site would greatly reduce costs, and there are areas in the upper pond which could serve as dredge decanting zones and a wetland buffer "shelf" can be created along the lower pond's perimeter.

• The lower dam is vital to any wet pond options and its repair should be a first priority. It's leak may be temporarily "plugged" while funds are pursued to upgrade it. A "geo-technical" engineer may be hired to study the dam's stability.

• Depending on the final plan, the community has the chance to present an integrated program in grant applications that uses a combination of urban nutrient and sediment BMPs along with community education aspects and wetland buffer creation. The Soil & Water Conservation District and Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department have offered to assist the HOA with grant applications.

• Potential funding sources will depend on the option chosen by the HOA. Grant sources may include:

  • US Army Corps of Engineers for creating wetland buffers with dredge material.

  • US Fish and Wildlife Service for planting the upper pond as a wetland or wet meadow, and involving children.

  • Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund for nonpoint source pollution and upgrading water quantity stormwater ponds to include water quality controls.

  • Small Watersheds Grants (Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay) for watershed-based nonpoint-source controls.

  • Northern Virginia Tributary Plan for urban water quality control retrofit demonstration project.

  • Environmental Education Grants from environmental organizations, Federal agencies (e.g., USFWS), and foundations (e.g., Virginia Environmental Endowment) for projects involving children and homeowners, including watershed walks with community members to identify sources of debris, sediment and nutrient runoff, wetland plantings, and other events.

• Community Involvement: Creating an area that the whole community can enjoy and take pride in will encourage community support for plans. Suggestions include expanding the bridge over the ponds into an observation deck with planters and educational signs, planning pond community events such as holiday picnics, and increasing aesthetic beauty by planting wildflowers and natives in the dredge material and replacing the middle spillway with an attractive rock cascade.

  • Involving the community in simple routine maintenance can reduce costs associated with keeping wet ponds and improve grant application prospects.