Water Access Issue Stymies Beach Ecological Project
By Scott Harper, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Jul. 31–VIRGINIA BEACH — An ecological project involving Back Bay and Lake Tecumseh is in jeopardy after its government sponsor pulled out, citing numerous concerns and questions from neighbors, sportsmen and boaters.
The $200,000 project was intended to permanently separate the two bodies of water in southern Virginia Beach by building two weirs, or small dikes, which experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believe would help restore the area to its natural, marshy state.
But the local sponsor of the proposed work, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which owns Lake Tecumseh, said it was surprised to learn that it did not also own the property where the weirs were to be built.
The Fish and Wildlife Service owns the land.
Ted Henifin, executive director of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, said Wednesday that the local agency also did not know that about 34 homes in north Sandbridge would have lost water access to the Back Bay system under the plan, and that the homeowners were not notified of the proposed project beforehand.
After learning these facts at a meeting Monday at the local office of U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, a Republican who represents the area, Henifin said “t he project took on a whole different flavor than we originally were led to believe.”
“At that point,” he added, “we decided to drop our support and withdraw our application” for a federal permit needed before construction could begin.
Residents who live along a chain of canals and coves between Lake Tecumseh and Ash ville Bridge Creek, which connects with Back Bay, were pleased with the decision.
“We need to do the right thing for the environment, but let’s get real,” said David Comer, a resident of the Ocean Lakes neighborhood, whose home abuts one of the man-made canals. “We need to find some compromises with the people who live out here — and at least tell them what’s going on.”
Bridgett Costanzo, a program coordinator with the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the federal agency still supports the project and hopes to complete it.
“We’re looking at our options now to make it happen,” she said Wednesday. “We’re passionate about this project.”
One option, Costanzo said, could be installing roller wheels atop the weirs so boats can slide between the lake and the canal.
Federal wildlife officials have been trying to win approval for the weirs for nearly eight years. They say the work will curb pollutants and sediments from washing into Back Bay, make water levels in Lake Tecumseh more predictable, and restore hydrology to the area, which has been altered by suburban development.
The canals are all man-made, as is Ash ville Bridge Creek, wildlife officials say, projects intended to provide more boating privileges without much concern for environmental impact.
But Mark Malbon, who has lived near Lake Tecumseh for 40 years, said he is not convinced the work would help the environment. He questions the wisdom of conducting “basically an experiment” while hampering people from enjoying the lake and its many canals.
State Del. Terrie L. Suit, R-Virginia Beach, who organized Monday’s meeting with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and other stakeholders, said she wants a more open, fairer process.
“If people bought a home with water access, and suddenly that goes away,” Suit said, “I’ll be opposed to it. I mean, that’s just not right.”
Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
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