Fairfax County has released a draft of the Pohick Creek Watershed Management Plan and is soliciting comments from Braddock residents through August 27. The plan establishes a framework for preserving and restoring the natural environment and aquatic resources in Pohick Creek. Pohick is a tributary of the Potomac River and has a drainage area in Fairfax of 34 square miles, making it one of the county’s largest watersheds.

The watershed planning process, which began in 2007, evaluated existing and future conditions, and identified 216 conceptual structural and non-structural projects that would improve the health of this watershed. Structural projects include stream restorations, pipe and pond retrofits, outfall improvements and swale restorations. Non-structural projects include rain barrels, cisterns and street sweeping, obstruction and dumpsite removal and buffer restorations.

The Draft Plan is broken into two priority phases. The first phase would take place within 10 years at a cost of $46 million, and identifies 46 projects in Braddock District. A detailed description of each project is available at the link provided below. The second phase includes all other viable structural and non-structural projects, and would be addressed in a 10-25 year timeframe at an additional cost of $48 million. A major goal of these projects is to reduce sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous in the Pohick Watershed to improve water quality.