Engineering with the Community: Lessons from an Urban Stream Restoration
Juan Campos, PE
Michelle Manfrey, EIT
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Reston, VA
The City of Fairfax, Virginia, completed construction of approximately 2,500 linear feet of stream restoration along Accotink Creek, a tributary to the Potomac River within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Located within an urban park corridor, the project required a deliberate and continuous public engagement strategy to address public concerns related to tree removal, construction near existing homes, and long-term environmental stewardship of one of the City’s twenty-five parks.
The urban setting and documented historical flooding to adjacent residential buildings forced a Priority 2 stream restoration design approach. Recognizing that tree removal would be a focal point of public discussion, the City developed multiple design alternatives to clearly communicate tradeoffs between hydraulic performance, floodplain connectivity, project cost, and the number of trees preserved. These alternatives analyses were presented to the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB), a citizen advisory group whose recommendations inform City Council decision-making on park property.
PRAB selected their preferred design, which included a retaining wall along the floodplain edge to preserve a row of mature trees adjacent to an apartment complex, thus maintaining the residents’ wooded viewshed while still meeting project performance goals.
Following PRAB’s selection, the City initiated an extensive public outreach program. The initial public meeting introduced the purpose of the project, explained the need for stream restoration, presented design and cost tradeoffs, and directly addressed anticipated tree impacts and mitigation measures, including highlighting the results of the tree-save analysis already prepared. Public comments were formally documented, and each concern was individually addressed during a follow-up meeting, clearly explaining how feedback did or did not influence the design.
Subsequent outreach meetings utilized a detailed 3D rendering of the proposed stream corridor developed directly from AutoCAD. Additional engagement included coordination with Friends of Accotink Creek on a pre-construction volunteer plant salvage effort and regular project updates were provided throughout construction via the City’s public outreach platform.
Stream restoration is a key component of how jurisdictions restore their portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed; however, when implemented in urban settings, public input, transparency, and sustained community support are as critical to success as sound engineering design.
About Juan Campos, PE
Education: Master of Science, Civil Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2016, Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2015
Background: Juan has over 9 years of experience in water resources engineering working with local jurisdictions in assisting them meet their stormwater and MS4 compliance needs. He specializes in stream and outfall restoration through natural channel design practices, MS4 permitting, flood resiliency planning, grant writing, and BMP retrofits.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-campos-p-e-971123113/
About Michelle Manfrey, EIT
Education: Environmental Engineering, University of Florida, 2021
Background: Michelle is a project engineer in Kimley-Horn’s Northern Virginia office with 4 years of water resources experience. Michelle has worked on a wide array of drainage infrastructure, dam and impoundment, and floodplain projects and specializes in municipal projects needed to meet local and Chesapeake Bay TMDL POC reduction requirements. Michelle is well-versed in the utilization of AutoCAD Civil 3D, the ArcGIS Suite, HEC-HMS, PondPack, and HEC-RAS.