Kerr: Stafford's silt problem

Stafford County has a long history of problems surrounding development, water runoff and siltation. It may seem like a modern environmental problem, but it's not.

When English settlers first arrived in the 17th century the approach to land management was simple. Clear the land of trees, plant crops, and don’t worry about runoff. When the soil gets depleted, move on to new land. In those days there was not much thought given to soil management or conservation. Runoff into the Aquia Creek and the Potomac River was so bad that it lowered water levels in some places and created sandbars.

A couple of centuries later, there was another scourge when it came to runoff and siltation: The Union Army. Stafford had recovered to some degree from the bad soil management of the first settlers, but thanks to the Yankees' insatiable desire for wood during their long stay here in the Civil War, trees throughout the county were decimated. Once again, water runoff and massive siltation did a lot of damage.

Today, even though we should know better, it’s still happening.

In early 2007 I wrote a column discussing some of my concerns over a housing project near Aquia Harbour, not far from where I live. The builders had clear-cut roughly 300 acres and it didn’t seem to me that silt control was working all that well. Alas, no one -- not the county and not the builders -- seemed anxious to do much about it. The builder alleged that I had gotten my facts wrong. The silted water I had observed, in his view, was not silt laden, just silt colored. The difference, if I recall the comments correctly, was likened to the difference between ice tea and chocolate syrup.

Personally I considered that analogy to be dubious. However, and this part could well be accurate, they claimed to have done all they were supposed to, at least according to county code, to mitigate runoff. Further, when I expressed my concern that this project was probably the cause of the rapid increase in silt pouring into the Aquia Creek and its manmade channels, I was reminded that they weren’t the only ones.

They were probably right on both points. However, it doesn’t alleviate any of my concerns about this project. Also, no matter what you believe regarding the source of the silt, before it was all said and done the residents of Aquia Harbour, with a little state aid thrown in, had to foot a very large bill for yet another dredging of the creek and some waterways. No matter who caused it, the blame can still be traced to ineffective runoff management tools and indifferent enforcement.

That leads me to one conclusion. If the runoff from construction projects, or for that matter, runoff from land being prepared for possible construction, isn’t being effectively stopped by the methods mandated by the county, then maybe the whole approach needs to change. In the case of runoff, an alternative approach would be results-based management. Rather than prescribing the construction of specific mitigation approaches, some that don’t seem to work, the code could instead require that runoff be measured and held to a specific particulate content or turbidity standard.

This approach would hold the builders to a standard, not based on what actions they took, or some checklist, but how effective they were at stopping the runoff. Also, it might encourage local builders to consider alternatives in the way they manage soil conservation. For instance, rather than clear cutting a large swath of land at one time, they might consider doing it incrementally.

Also, for some projects, with county assistance, they might look at some new innovations in soil management. For instance, there are composted berms that are considered more effective than screens for filtering out particulate matter from runoff. There are even some high-tech alternatives such as polymer additives to the soil which can work to hold the soil in place.

Siltation isn’t a minor problem or a passing concern. It represents a major environmental problem for our community. It damages our streams, waterways, and aquatic life.

At the moment, thanks to the recession, the building industry is quiet. There aren’t many new projects and the siltation problem is ebbing. But the economy will recover, the bulldozers will be moving again. Before they do, we should revisit our approach to soil management and devise something that’s results based, is creative in the kinds of tools we use, and that for once can be truly effective. This is an initiative the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, if they want to chart a better future for the way we manage our soil and runoff problems, should get serious about. We’ve waited long enough.

David S. Kerr is an Aquia resident and a former member of the Stafford County School Board. Contact him at info@stafford countysun.com.