Lake Barcroft Watershed Improvement District

By Mary Ann Francis

Barcroft News Staff

The Lake Barcroft Watershed Improvement District (WID) management team is planning important improvements in 2003 including a new electronic dam control system and initial planning for an auxiliary building at the dam compound. These improvements were discussed at the monthly WID Board of Trustees meeting Feb. 5.

The electronic dam control system, called a Programmed Logic Controller, will be installed in March. It replaces old equipment and will improve dam monitoring through computer terminal displays that can be viewed both at the dam and from remote computer terminals. According to Dave Alne, WID Trustee Chairman, the system replaces equipment that is five years old, and spare parts are no longer available, reflecting the fact that modern technology moves very quickly. The system will be installed by Applied Engineering, Inc. of Columbia, Md.

The new building will give more workspace for staff and provide storage for the WID's extensive records and environmental library, much of which is currently maintained in private homes. Architect Pat Divito of Beachway Drive is volunteering expertise on the project. The structure will be a pre-fabricated service building. Planning is still in the preliminary stages so size of the structure, cost and exact site are yet to be determined.

A project to reorganize existing WID documentation and move some of it to electronic formats that the staff will find easy to locate and use is also being explored.

The WID Spring meeting will be held on April 16 at the Fortune Restaurant in Seven Corners. That meeting will include a demonstration of Urban BMP Stormwater, a CD-ROM that documents the WID's efforts under an EPA grant to investigate new urban flood control and water quality technology. It includes and extensive picture gallery. Community residents may request a copy of the CD by calling 703-820-7700.