This policy paper was initially provided in response to Chris Weymont’s Candidate Question of the Week
Candidate Patrick Moran
Taylor/Strawberry Run Stream Restoration –Do you favor the current plans for stream restoration for Taylor Run/Strawberry Run or would you ask City staff to present alternatives to Council for final say?
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Thanks, Chris.
I recognize that your question is about the stream “restoration” project at the upper portion of Taylor Run, but I want to also recognize that Alexandrians living on the lower portion of Taylor Run are facing regular flooding and sewer backflow issues. The city’s existing program to promote backflow preventer installations is inadequate and needs to be revamped to better serve our community.
As for your question, I have major concerns with Taylor Run Stream Project. I also tend to be long-winded on topics I am passionate about. Please bear with me as I share my thoughts. I have a lot of them.
My principal concerns regarding Taylor Run are centered on resiliency. I have walked it with local environmentalist leaders, and my team at TLC has visited this site multiple times, including this morning to better understand how runoff currently behaves there. We have shared and continue to share videos through our campaign IGTV and Facebook, and I encourage anyone interested in seeing the site in greater detail to check them out.
I am not an engineer nor a fluvial geologist, but I am a licensed landscape contractor with a lot of specialty training in ecology and stormwater management. My professional expertise has served me well in reviewing the project and has also enabled me to propose tangible solutions to the city. My understanding of Strawberry Run at this point is limited to the fact that the prior stream restoration project there failed. I intend to learn more specifics and can update when I do.
There are problems with the Taylor Run project, systemically and practically. I won’t get into the specifics of the phosphorous and pollutant measurements and state-mandated mitigation based on Pennsylvania soil, because it has been well-documented, and they seem nonsensical.
As someone who is running to be a leader in our local government, I will say, that those who are advocating to have our city just cease planning, are wrong. To stop this project in its entirety is not in our best interest. We must redirect City Staff’s effort to a solution that makes sense. Without a solution, it would be a further waste of expenses and labor: our tax dollars spent for nothing. A solution is required. I am running for City Council because I can offer tangible solutions on this and other issues that will lead to the best result that will maximize the quality of life of our community, the environment, and the resiliency of our infrastructure.
Now at this point, I am sure that some who are reading this, who have watched the ECA presentation, are on the defensive. They say, screw the city. I hear you, and I ask that you have an open mind. Please also understand that I am an environmentalist. I have developed a career and built a business around offering sustainable solutions to clients. Sustainability is a deep-rooted passion of mine. The climate crisis is the defining challenge of my generation, and I understand that my generation will have to be instrumental in reshaping our domestic and global economies to be sustainable and resilient. Resilience is another of my passions. it has been fostered through my service Chairing the Citizen Corps Council of Alexandria. For Taylor Run, I call upon both passions, sustainability, and resilience, to chart a path forward. I will present my concerns and then offer my solutions.
I have major concerns that the existing NCD plan will result in flooding of King Street during our fabled heavy rainstorms. I am fearful that all it would take would be for one of the culverts to become blocked to then cause an enormous amount of water to back up. Without the capacity that has developed over time through the channelization (deepening of the creek bed), I predict it will overflow out of the floor plans and into King Street. I would also wager that the current design would fail in time because the specifications aren’t designed to handle the storm we know we will get.
For the fix to sustainable, widespread upstream stormwater management practices would need to be installed at places like Mini Howard, Lindsey Lexus, First Baptist, and Episcopal, not to mention all of the intervening roads: King St, including King Street. Quaker, and Braddock. Responsible stormwater management is currently lacking, which makes Taylor Run susceptible to an unnatural amount of stormwater runoff. In all, Taylor Run receives runoff from 330 acres of Alexandria. Two hundred of which lack effective stormwater mitigation installations. Heck, we could call it Taylor Runoff, until upstream improvements are made.
This difficult reality is part of the issue face. It must be confronted. Without addressing this, or waiting until after the Taylor Run project is completed to address the runoff issues is risky and bad practice. The state should not be putting our City in that situation, and I believe we can effectively lobby to have those requirements deferred. Until then, it stands a very high chance of becoming similar to Holmes Run Trail, where paths are washed out and no repairs are made. Where will be then? It would once again be an impassable park, except in the case of Taylor Run, it will mean the better part of 11,000 tons of microbially inactive clay dirt will find its way further downstream, clogging waterways, disrupting soil strata, suffocated wildlife, and making areas that were once clean water into mud pits. We cannot let that happen.
We also cannot be blind to the fact that Taylor Run is no fern gully. It is not an old-growth forest. There are beautiful older trees there are slated to be protected. There are also mature trees that have been identified to be taken down and reused as part of the project. Anyone who engages on this issue, ought to understand that this area of public land has been disturbed many, many times and the long-term hope of this area being a sustainable and permanent ecological refuge was tragically lost when past generations installed sewer and stormwater infrastructure that ran along, under, and throughout the area.
Past decisions meant that a growing Alexandra would always have negative impacts on this area. It would always be a matter of time before the city would disrupt it, whether it be to remove tree roots from pipes, add new lines, or ensure access to manhole covers. There is no better reminder of this than the exposed sewer line that spans the middle of the waterway. This pipe must be hardened and protected. Why? Less than 100’ from the exposed sewer line, there is a tree dam that is susceptible to breaking free during our next heavy deluge. If it does, I expect that it will break the sewer line. Raw sewage will be flowing into Taylor Run. That would be tragic. We cannot let that happen.
And though we find ourselves in a precarious position, it’s not all doom and gloom. Our best hope is protecting the elements of the area and embracing a sustainable approach. As I reviewed the plans, I have confirmed that many materials slated for erosion control and slowing will be sourced on-site. This includes utilizing dying and threatened trees as part of the erosion control infrastructure in the form of riffles and log dams.
We should also note that growing trees and using lumber is a sustainable practice. Carbon is sequestered and when trees do fall or are sustainably harvested, it opens the canopy where new trees can mature. The tragedy comes when forests are clear-cut and not replanted, and when habitats are stripped and the only destruction is left. We cannot let that happen,
Fortunately, this is not the case here. The current plans call for 9200 native trees and shrubs to be planted. In my review, that will double the existing flora in the area. We need those native trees and shrubs, as does the soil. But I will be the first one to tell you that planting them is not enough. They must survive, and they must thrive. I have engaged the city to ensure that there are appropriate guarantees in place. I am optimistic that we will receive them.
Additionally, my team at TLC and I are currently in the process of evaluating the net carbon cost of this project and better understanding the carbon footprint of this project. If we can ensure that a safer, more sustainable, and accessible Taylor Run is sequestering more carbon than it is currently, that’s a win for the city and the world.
The next issue I am currently working with the city to resolve is the 11,000 tons of fill dirt that were specified for this project. As I mentioned before, the Taylor Run path part of Chinquapin Park needs work. In its current state, it is poorly maintained. I hope that the civic effort that mobilized to protect Taylor Run and advocate for its best future translates to physical stewardship of cleaning it up, removing invasive species, extracting litter. But, the reality is that the area is not safe for many volunteers to undertake these actions. It’s dangerous.
Currently, Taylor Run is not accessible by foot in many areas. There are several individuals, many of them tree stewards, who are working despite these obstacles, but their efforts are a far cry from what is ultimately needed. They need help. It is not accessible to those with mobility challenges to pick up litter or remove the trash that has washed onto the banks of the water. It is unsafe. One wrong step can lead you to fall down a 20’-30’ steep slope. A public park adjacent to a recreational facility and high school needs to be accessible to all. Currently, it is not. We cannot let that continue.
So how do we address this safety concern without the use of fill dirt, I have called on TES to update to use boulders, cobblestone, river jack throughout the entire project to truly mimic a naturally flowing creek. This would be far more attractive than the concrete sidewalk debris that is currently scattered throughout the area, and it would serve to cover up any areas where old rebar is exposed, calling for a tetanus booster.
Though I respect the sustainable and recycled use of the concrete, natural stones installed above the existing base will be permeable and pervious to water. Water will flow on the surface, but also below it. There, ecosystems will thrive, fish fry could thrive, plants will root, water will filter. These stones when installed correctly could also allow for beautiful water plants to thrive, supporting an eco-system that is more aligned with our shared vision of a beautiful woodland stream.
The current plans call for a top layer of cobblestone and river jack placed on top of many feet of dirt, installed on top of the existing cobble. We must eliminate the mud sandwich, and make the whole creek stone. It will solve the erosion problem. It will do more to filter the water. It will protect the sewer infrastructure. It will be resilient to the 100-year storm in our future.
To round out my thoughts, as much as I love and appreciate the civic engagement and activism around this project. It falls into a similar category as to the way many Seminary Road activists described when advocating against Alternative 3 versus Alternative 1. “We like complete streets, but this section of seminary road is not the right place for it.” That same logic applies here.
We all love trees. We need to protect them, snd improvements to this park need to be done. Sustainability utilizing trees is a way to honor them. Substituting the fill dirt for river rock will harden this project, resolve erosion, and make the park more accessible for all Alexandrians. Our sewer infrastructure must be improved and hardened.
This project needs to be changed. My solutions make it more sustainable and resilient. I will continue to work with the city to ensure these changes are made. Only then, will I get on board. In the meantime, I will make the effort to see those changes realized. I appreciate the opportunity to share and look forward to discussing more.
Patrick Moran | Candidate for Alexandria City Council
Patrick Moran is a Yale-educated social entrepreneur who has committed himself to strengthen his community and fight climate change through business. Patrick owns and leads Tactical Land Care LLC (TLC) that provides stormwater management solutions and sustainable landscape improvements to residential and commercial properties throughout the DC-metro area. He is a dedicated community volunteer who is serving his second term as Chairman of the Alexandria Citizen Corps Council (CCC), where he spearheaded the unanimously adopted ResilientALX Charter by Alexandria City Council aimed at holistically improving the resiliency and preparedness of the City residents, businesses, and organization, in collaboration with its neighbors. He is a member of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and has supported the Alexandria Health Department’s Covid Relief efforts. Patrick served on the Steering Committee for the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria where he has sought to address healthcare inequalities and social equity issues. Patrick is running for City Council in this upcoming June 8th election where he hopes to continue his efforts to strengthen communities and address gaps for all Alexandrians.