Accotink recovers from storm
By James Cullum
Employees at Lake Accotink Park are working against time to repair thousands of dollars in damages caused by the series of severe storms in the past week. The storms came only three weeks before the community will celebrate Springfield Days, a four-day-long party that ends with a cardboard boat race on the sandy shore of Lake Accotink.
The only problem is, there's no sandy shore left.
Recouping insurance money and working with the Fairfax County Risk Management Division, Accotink will have to replace about $10,000 in destroyed, damaged and washed-away amenities.
Another concern is the amount of trash that washed into the lake from surrounding areas.
“We just got hammered with trash in the lake, and we just finished the spring cleanup, getting it ready for Mother's Day weekend,” said Lake Accotink Park Manager Tawny Hammond.
In preparation for the storm, park staffers loosened the mooring lines of docked boats so rising water wouldn't cause the boats to sink.
Although the integrity of the dam was not compromised, the storm caused large, fallen oak trees to smash the wooden flashboards on the dam. Flashboards control the depth of water and are placed at the top of a dam.
The miniature golf course and playground were also damaged, and the expensive, specially fibered mulch on the grounds was washed away.
Also washed away were large quantities of riprap, piles of rocks designed to armor the shoreline from erosion.
Numerous trees are down, blocking trails and roads.
“We're used to doing maintenance on all of these facilities on a routine basis,” Hammond said, “and we'll be cleaning up after the storm for about a week. We'll figure out a way to get it done. We always do.”