Federal and county officials offering to study flood risks in Broad Run Farms have encountered resistance and skepticism.
A vocal group of citizens made it clear at a public meeting last Thursday that they wanted no part of it.
Ed Lane, a resident, expressed concern that the study might lead the county to condemn some of the properties in the flooded area. "We kind of would like you to leave us alone," he said. "If we told you to go away, you'd go away?"
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Loudoun Department of General Services plan to carry out a $44,000 study on emergency access during flooding in Sterling's oldest planned community. "Is there something we can do to improve emergency access? If there isn't, we won't do anything," said Craig Thomas, environmental protection specialist.
Richard Pezzullio, deputy director of the county Department of General Services, said Loudoun has a responsibility to look at the situation. He doubted any plans would be carried out after it is completed. "Not in my lifetime. Things don't happen that fast."
BROAD RUN FARMS, which has about 1,000 residents, has been at the center of attention since TCE was discovered in 22 wells in March. Hidden Lane Landfill, which operated without a permit from 1971 to 1984, is the suspected source of the carcinogen. Health Department Director David Goodfriend has said the TCE could contaminate other wells.
Lane, a 20-year-resident, described himself as a relative newcomer to Broad Run Farms. Many residents have lived in the rural community for five decades, he said. "What brought this to your eyes after 50 years? Why pick us? We're a very small part of Loudoun County."
He said Broad Run Farms was flooded six times in the past 20 years, and three were minor incidents. The area was flooded in 1986 and twice in 1995. The community, established in 1952, hugs the Potomac River and Broad Run tributary.
"Every time it floods, we know 48 hours in advance. We all know in advance, and that water recedes very quickly."
Kara Deutsch, another environmental protection specialist, will interview residents by telephone and draft up to five alternatives for emergency access. She named two possibilities: elevating Youngs Cliff Road and building a new access road. "We're looking for the public's perspective on what will work," she said.
Thomas said the only feasible option might be the current one: evacuation.
Tracy Wenger, a resident, asked whether federal and county officials had another agenda. Afterward, she and her husband, Tom, said they were concerned the study's purpose was to provide grounds to build another access road connecting Youngs Cliff Road to a proposed housing development.
Mary Jo Deskins, a resident, said she and her neighbors could use dirt to build up the level of their properties. "Why would we want you to bring in a new road, disrupting everything else?"
Wenger asked why not wait until another flood to do a study. Thomas said it could be another 10 years.
"Exactly," she said.
Wenger asked if Loudoun was studying any other community in the county. Pezzullio said only one study was planned, but others might be forthcoming.
Dan O'Shea, another resident, asked whether similar studies were being conducted nationally. Thomas said he thought they were, but he works for a regional office in Baltimore.
Thomas said a mandate from the federal government has the county and the Army Corps taking a look at the issue. Referring to the Board of Supervisors, "Broad Run Farms is one area they want to be protective with this," he said.
"That's what Loudoun County told you," Kevin Fannon, another resident, said.
"That's hard to believe," O'Shea said.
FANNON SUGGESTED the solution is to buy Loudoun Fire & Rescue new boat motors. "The last time the water reached the road was in 1996. It happened twice. Both times, Fire and Rescue could not get their boats running," he said.
Neighbors helped one another, as they have in the past, he said.
Pezzullio stood at the front of the group as the residents kept throwing questions at him. "I'm here as the lightning rod. You can vent your spleen," he said.
Lane said it feels like Broad Run Farms has been singled out, but Pezzullio disagreed.
He asked why the county was taxing residents' property at "non-flood plain" rates if indeed the neighborhood is in a flood plain.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Loudoun County plan to share the cost of the study. Thomas said the findings will be used for planning purposes only. The Army Corps will not provide detailed design or construction plans in the study, he said.
Pezzullio said responsibility for Loudoun County's storm-water management moved from homeowner's associations to the Board of Supervisors in October 2003. "Loudoun County is very fortunate. There aren't many areas that flood as a result of storm-water events," he said.
THE STUDY ALSO CALLS for new flood maps showing which areas would be at risk in a decade, 50 years and 100 years.
A tentative meeting to discuss the study's results is slated for August.
Fannon raised a concern about the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority's plan to build a waste-water treatment plant. She said it was his understanding that the reclamation facility would raise the level of the Broad Run by a foot, which could generate additional flooding. "Would you have the power to stop that?"
Thomas said, "No."
Samantha Villagas, the authority's spokeswoman, said the project would actually raise the tributary by less than one-tenth of a foot of water on the Broad Run and an immeasurable amount on the Potomac River. The design flow will add 15 cubic feet of water per second to the Potomac, which usually runs 300,000 cubic feet per second at its highest flood stage.
"It is well within county requirements," she said. "It should not be a point of concern for anybody."