Fairfax County on Monday agreed to examine a bundle of potential flood protections for Huntington, where neighborhoods were overtaken this summer by swells from nearby Cameron Run.
County staff will look into a variety of measures advocated by the Huntington Community Association for how to prevent a recurrence of the events of June 25, when a swift-moving wall of putrid water tore through homes on Fenwick Drive and Arlington Terrace. About 150 homes sustained damage estimated in the millions.
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The incident, one of the most glaring examples of the ravages of this summer’s flooding, was and is the subject of numerous government studies. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to release its finding on the causes of Huntington’s flooding this week.
And while large-scale efforts have gone toward rooting out the reasons behind the disaster, comparatively little has been done to prevent it from happening again. The Board of Supervisors agreed to examine dredging or widening Cameron Run, placing broken rocks or other materials along the shoreline, and flood-proofing homes at the highest risk, among other possible fixes.
Some supervisors scoffed, however, at the Huntington Community Association’s suggestion for greater storage capacity at the LakeBarcroft dam. Some in the community had alleged that a large load of water was released from the dam during the storm, which then flowed into Huntington.
A Lake Barcroft dam official, however, said this summer that the structure did not contribute to the flooding to the south. County supervisors on Monday echoed that assertion, and argued that altering the dam was not a viable option.
“That would totally change the character of that community [around Barcroft],” said Supervisor Penelope Gross, who represents the Mason District. “It is not a flood-control project.”
