Fort Belvoir Reservoir

Here follows an article from the Washington Post newspaper published on August 23, 1934:

National Park Is Proposed in Fairfax County
U. S. Discusses Terms for 3,000 Acre Tract on Accotink Creek.

Terms are being discussed by the Federal Government for acquisition of approximately 3,000 acres of land lying on Accotink Creek, in Mount Vernon and Lee Districts, Fairfax County, Va., between the Southern Railway and Rolling road, for the establishment of a proposed game preserve and public park.

Preliminary surveys of the area have been made and titles are being examined. According to statements of officials negotiating the project, two dams probably will be constructed on Accotink Creek, to create artificial lakes. Driveways will be built and camping grounds established.

A recently constructed State highway with a 50-foot right of way now runs through practically the center of the proposed park. Work of turning the proposed area, many acres of which are in virgin forest land, into a park, will be done by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, if the project is approved by Government officials.

The tract is approximately four miles in length, with varying width, bordering on each side of Accotink Creek. Most of the land needed for the project is now owned by former United States Senator Joseph W. Bristow, who lives near Annandale, Fairfax County, and Frank C. Gillingham, of Springfield.


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Here follows an article from the Fairfax Herald newspaper as published on February 15, 1935:

HISTORIC NAME RESTORED
President Roosevelt has issued directions to the War Department that the name of Fort Humphreys be changed to Fort Belvoir to commemorate the ancient estate of the Fairfax family which in colonial times occupied the ground on which the army post now stands. The Secretary of War is expected to issue the necessary orders within the next few days. Belvoir was the home of William Fairfax, and it was here in 1734 that George Washington first met Thomas Lord Fairfax in whose honor the county is named. Washington frequently visited there. The old house which was built in 1734 was destroyed during the Revolution. Its foundations were uncovered a few years ago.


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Here follows an article from the Washington Post newspaper as published on April 4, 1937:

HUNDREDS FIGHT BRUSH FIRES IN FAIRFAX COUNTY
Largest Blaze Now Raging on Accotink Creek; House Saved From Flames.

Forest, field and brush fires in Fairfax County, Va., during the past week have called out several hundred men to combat the raging flames and keep them from destroying homes in their path.

The largest forest fire is now burning along Accotink Creek, from Pohick Station north for about four miles. Several thousand acres have been burned over. The blaze started from a small brush fire near Sydenstricker, in Lee District, and, fanned by a northwest wind, spread rapidly.

Most of the woods burned over have been logged, but the dense underbrush caused the flames to leap high, attracting hundreds of spectators both day and night for the past three days.

Several houses have been menaced, but volunteer fire fighters have back fired in time to keep the fire near them under control. Several small outbuildings have caught fire from flying embers, but slight damage has resulted.

Although the fire is near Lorton Reformatory and Workhouse, no trouble was anticipated, as most of the reservation has been cleared. A force of about 50 convicts went to the aid of exhausted fire fighters Friday night. Yesterday the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad sent a force of 75 men to aid the residents of Mount Vernon District, near Newington.


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Here follows an article from the Washington Post newspaper as published on December 14, 1952:

ACCOTINK CREEK USE SEEN HOLDING UP VA. PROJECTS
By Robert E. L. Baker

A stalemate over the use of Accotink Creek in Fairfax County will hold up the building of 5,000 new homes in the next 10 years unless the squabble is settled, according to an Arlington consulting engineer.

The problem is this:

A large, attractive area near Springfield is being eyed by at least four major and many minor developers for use as subdivisions. Several sewage treatment plants, which would empty into Accotink Creek, are planned.

But Fort Belvoir objects to any such plans because that huge Army Engineer base of 7,000 population gets its water supply from the creek.

The stalemate is two years old, and apparently is no nearer settlement now than then, according to Llewellyn B. Griffith, consulting engineer for the major developers.

The problem had its start with the completion of Shirley Highway, which provided the area on Accotink Creek with quick access to Washington ten miles away.

Developers spotted this land is ideal for subdivisions, and landowners there saw their farmland and wooded areas rise sharply in value.

The developers, according to Griffith, assumed they could build sewage treatment plants and use the Accotink Creek for discharge. These plans and specifications were approved by the State Health Department for the Springfield development after several technical conferences with objecting Fort Belvoir engineers.

But the State Water Control Board, at a subsequent hearing, refused to accept the State Health Department's recommendation and wouldn't issue permits for construction of the plants.

The Springfield developers then went ahead with building on only part of their total land investment. Sewage there is discharged through a connection with the county's Holmes Run line.

Just recently, another group of developers wanted to build on the Accotink Watershed, and the State Water Control Board reopened the case. Fort Belvoir called in the U. S. Public Health Service to support its contention.

The report stated that the esthetic factors -- meaning the repugnance which water supply consumers might feel toward drinking water compounded in part of sewage of recent origin -- alone are sufficient reasons for avoiding using the creek for sewage disposal purposes.

"Bunk," replied Griffith, as representative of the developers. "There's nothing unusual about our proposal. Most water treatments plants are ready to take water from places polluted upstream. Philadelphians drink what was once sewage water. Anf our plants would completely sterilize sewage that already had been made clear and free from impurities."

The USPHS report suggested alternatives: discharging the sewage after treatment into another watershed or discharge it below the Fort Belvoir water intake.

Griffith said both plans are impractical since the cost would be prohibitive. Septic tanks are out, because the land isn't suitable.

"Besides, the law says it's all right to discharge treated sewage into streams if it doesn't endanger lives or destroy fish," Griffith said.

Last development in the stalemate was a letter from Griffith to the State Water Control Board, asking the board to notify him what changes are necessary in his plans for acceptance, as required by law when the board refuses plans.

"That letter was dated September 20, and I haven't heard a word from them since," he said.

Meanwhile, the Army is standing fast in its opposition to construction of the plants. A Pentagon spokesman said the Army has a million dollars invested in its water supply plant, and will try its best to protect it.

Griffith still stoutly maintains the sewage plants wouldn't interfere. "All that talk about esthetic values is foolishness. Why doesn't Fort Belvoir seek another water supply? The money involved in the proper development of the land is much more than Fort Belvoir's investment.

"There's sufficient room for 10,000 homes and 50,000 people in the Accotink area."


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Here follows an article from the Washington Post newspaper as published on May 3, 1959:

ARMY STUDIES FAIRFAX PLAN FOR BIG PARK
The Army is seeking the best way to release the Fort Belvoir reservoir for recreational purposes, the Fairfax Board of County Supervisors was told yesterday.

Ira N. Gabrielson, chairman of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, read a letter from Jack C. Burdett, chief of the Army Real Estate Division. The letter said the Army is studying whether to dispose of the reservoir or retain it and grant a long term lease for its uses as a recreational area.

The Authority has included $290,000 in its budget for purchase of the 200-acre lake on Accotink Creek near Springfield.

The Authority asked Fairfax County to contribute $160,000 as its share of the purchase during the supervisors' discussion yesterday of the County's proposed $34.6 million budget. Public hearings on the County budget will be held Monday and Tuesday nights, and final action will be taken May 20.

The plan to acquire the reservoir suffered a setback Friday night when the Arlington County Board in a preliminary budget conference, failed to provide any funds for the Regional Park Authority. The Authority had asked Arlington for $1157,000, part of which would go toward the reservoir purchase.


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Here follows an article from the Washington Post newspaper as published on April 3, 1960:

NEW LAKE UNSAFE FOR SWIMMERS

Chances are there won't be any swimming this summer in the Fort Belvoir reservoir even though Fairfax County is turning the area into a park.

The county medical director, Dr. Harold Kennedy, said yesterday he thinks the 110-acre reservoir will prove to be too contaminated for swimming.

"And I don't think it will be safe for swimming in the foreseeable future," he said.

Fred M. Packard, the county's parks director, said fishing and boating will be permitted.

The problem is Accotink Creek, which feeds the reservoir. Because of pollution from the creek, the army surgeon general in 1958 found the reservoir too contaminated for further use as the Fort Belvoir water supply. The fort now buys its water from the Alexandria Water Company.

Two sewage treatment plants are located on the Accotink above the reservoir. The Fairfax Town plant below Fairfax Circle discharges about two million gallons of treated sewage a day into the stream.

Vienna's southside treatment plant on Bear Branch, an Accotink tributary, pumps in about 100,000 gallons daily. (The capacity of this plant now is being doubled).

Both plants are located within eight miles of the reservoir.

The Virginia State Water Control Board last took samples of Acootink Creek water between the treatment plants and the reservoir in February, 1959.

The one-day tests showed sewage-caused bacterial counts ranging from 21,000 to 240,000 per cupful. The 240,000-germ sampling was taken at Braddock Road just above the reservoir.

The United States Public Health Service advises against swimming in water with bacterial counts exceeding 3,000 per cupful. Dr. Kennedy said he has practically no hope that the reservoir will meet this standard.


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Here follows an article from the Fairfax Herald newspaper as published on April 8, 1960:

FORT BELVOIR PARK

Representative Broyhill (R-Va.) announces that County Park Authority has been granted a 25-year license to use the Accotink Dam and Reservoir area of the Fort Belvoir Military Reservation.

Use of the 242-acre tract, including a lake of approximately 110 acres, was requested by the Park Authority after it had been declared surplus by the Department of the Army.


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Here follows an article from the Northern Virginia Sun newspaper as published on August 10, 1961:

PARK AUTHORITY ADDS 46.5 ACRES

A combination give-and-sell deal has extended the park area adjacent to Lake Accotink near Springfield by 42.5 acres.

The Fairfax County Park Authority has acquired 46.5 acres from developer Edward R. Carr, including another four-acre tract near Springfield.

The Park Authority expects the new land to be cleared for camping and picnicking by next spring. The new land gives the park tract a total of 284.3 acres, including 110 acres of water.

Carr actually sold 34 acres, and donated 12. Total price was $100,000.

The additonal land will ease the crowded marina at Lake Accotink, which was formerly known as the Fort Belvoir reservoir. Lake Accotink was leased from the U. S. Army for 21 years in April, 1960.


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Here follows an article from the Northern Virginia Sun newspaper as published on April 27, 1965:

LAKE ACCOTINK BOUGHT BY COUNTY

WASHINGTON -- A check for $88,250 was presented to the General Services Administration (GSA) Monday by the Fairfax County Park Authority in return for the title to Lake Accotink, located off Backlick Road in Springfield, Joe Brown, park director, announced.

The check represents half the appraised value of the 242-acre tract that includes a 100-acre lake.

LONG KNOWN as the Fort Belvoir reservoir, the area has been operated as a public park by Fairfax County since April 1960, when the authority, with the aid of 10th District Representative Joel T. Broyhill, negotiated a 25-year license with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

However, last year the site was declared surplus by the federal government, and the Park Authority submitted an application to the Utilization and Disposal Service of GSA to purchase the land.

Representative Broyhill also initiated legislation seeking to secure the site for park use.

THE BID BY the authority was accepted last week, and Monday a certified check for the purchase price was presented to William K. Cameron, regional director, Utilization and Disposal Service, and L. Eugene Nunnally, chief, real property division, by Edward Grotecloss Jr. of the Park Authority.

The Fairfax Park Authority has operated the lake as a fishing, boating, and recreation facility. Some 50 additional acres were purchased adjacent to the leased property, and a large picnic shelter and sanitary facilities were constructed on this land.

A comprehensive master plan for the Accotink Park has been completed, and development will begin after the plan has been presented to citizens' groups.

More than 101,000 people visited Accotink Park between November 1, 1963 and November 1, 1964, the latest figures available. A full-time park manager is at the marina, and the park is open from 8 a.m. until dark daily, including Sunday.


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Here follows an article from the Washington Times Herald as published on April 27, 1965:

LAKE ACCOTINK IS SOLD TO FAIRFAX BY ARMY

The Fairfax County Park Authority bought an Army surplus lake yesterday. Called Lake Accotink, it occupies 100 acres of a 242-acre tract off Back Lick Road at Springfield. The whole tract cost $176,500 and the Park Authority got the title from the General Services Administration's Utilization and Disposal Service by making a 50 per cent down payment. Long identified as the Fort Belvoir Reservoir, the area had been operated as a public park by Fairfax County since April 1960, when the Park Authority, with the aid of Representative Joel T. Broyhill (R-Va.), negotiated a 25-year lease with the Army Corps of Engineers. Last year, however, the Federal Government declared the site surplus and put it up for sale. The Park Authority was the high bidder. Joe Brown, Park Authority director, said yesterday that Lake Accotink and the surrounding park area will continue to be run as a fishing, boating and recreation facility. Plans are being considered to improve the lake for swimming. More than 101,000 picnickers and fishermen visited the park between November 1963, and November, 1964. It is open daily from 8 a.m. until dark.


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Here follows an article from the Fairfax Herald newspaper as published on April 30, 1965:

COUNTY PURCHASES LAKE ACCOTINK
A check for $88,250 was presented to the General Services Administration Monday by the County Park Authority in return for the title to Lake Accotink, located off Backlick Road in Springfield, Joe Brown, Park Director, announced. The check represents half the appraised value of the 242-acre tract that includes the 100-acre lake, Long identified as the Fort Belvoir Reservoir, the area has been operated as a public park by the county since April 1960, when the Authority, with the aid of Congressman Broyhill, negotiated a 25-year license with the Army Engineers. However, last year the site was declared surplus by the Federal Government and the Park Authority submitted an application to the Utilization and Disposal Service of GSA to purchase the land. Congressman Broyhill also initiated legislation seeking to secure the site for park use. The bid by the Park Authority was accepted by GSA last week. The Park Authority has operated the lake as a fishing, boating and recreation facility. Some 50 additional acres were purchased adjacent to the leased property and a large picnic shelter and sanitary facilities were constructed on this land.


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Here follows an article from the Annandale Globe newspaper as published on March 14, 1968:

COUNTY GETS HUD GRANTS
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a $740,580 grant under the Open-Space Land program for the Fairfax County Park Authority, according to an announcement from Senator William Spong's office. The grant will be used to assist in the purchase of 265 acres as an addition to the 262 acre Lake of Accotink Park in the Springfield area of Fairfax County. Also approved was a $54,500 grant for the City of Fairfax. The area to be developed under this grant consists of 19 acres in the southwest part of the city, bounded on the North by the Fairfax West apartments. The land will be used for general recreational purposes. That part of the city has no park facilities at present.


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Here follows an article from the Washington Times Herald as published on June 3, 1971:

LAKE ACCOTINK REOPENS TODAY FOR SOME SPORTS
Lake Accotink, a major Fairfax County water sports facility closed more than a year ago because of pollution, has been found safe for boating and fishing by the Virginia Water Control Board. A spokesman for the county park authority said last night the lake, southeast of Fairfax City, will reopen today because pollution levels were found to be reduced in tests conducted by the state agency last month. Swimming still will be banned. The lake was closed in June, 1970, and a Fairfax City sewage treatment plant upstream on Accotink Creek, its tributary, was cited as the prime source of pollution. The Fairfax City plant was replaced late last year. The lake was drained and refilled earlier this year to rid it of pollutants.