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MARCH 12, 2015
NUMBER 37
Educa t io n
VOLUME 8
Public Access To Return At Reservoir This Summer oudoun Water announced Friday afternoon that Beaverdam Creek Reservoir would temporarily reopen for public activities June 1. The utility bought the 600-acre reservoir in January 2014 as part of a $30 million deal with Fairfax City that included the Goose Creek Reservoir and Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant. Then, on April 22, 2014, Loudoun Water restricted public access to Beaverdam to evaluate the property, sparking a wave of criticism. Fishermen, kayakers, hikers and rowing
teams especially enjoyed the reservoir, and were upset when Loudoun Water said safety and liability concerns had to come first as the agency looks at what’s planned for a $17 million overhaul. Friday’s news should delight those who liked to spend time on the water in the Ashburn area. With a portion of the necessary work done there, Loudoun Water said, Beaverdam will be open for recreation this summer and next before it would have to be closed again for another round of construction. The aim is then to have it permanently reopened in 2018. “Temporarily opening Beaverdam now balances Loudoun Water’s responsibility to protect and maintain the reservoir as a long-term drinking
water resource with the community’s desire for a recreational destination,” the agency noted in a statement. The surprise announcement came following a shake-up at Loudoun Water during which General Manager Fred Jennings was fired and retired GM Dale Hammes brought back to run the authority. Jennings previously stated that it would not be possible to allow public access to the property until all the work was complete. While the reservoir has been closed, Loudoun Water was able to completely drain it, replace deteriorated gate valves in the inlet control tower, and conduct topographic mapping of the dry land, which allowed for accurate calculation of its water
storage volume. “We knew when we acquired it that a lot of work was needed to evaluate, understand the infrastructure capabilities, limitations and the repairs that were required, about $17 million worth of repairs,” Loudoun Water board Chairman Johnny Rocca said during a press conference at the agency’s office. When the reservoir is completely refilled, public access to the property will be temporarily overseen by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and Loudoun Water is working on an agreement for that agency, now called NOVA Parks, to manage it permanently.
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Loudoun Country Day Student Wins Bee With ‘Agama’ Danielle Nadler
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Leesburg Today/Danielle Nadler
Loudoun Country Day School eighth-grade student Shiv Lamba takes a moment to think before correctly spelling the word agama to win the 33rd annual Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee. View a slideshow from the event at LeesburgToday.com.
ou get this, and you’re our winner.” Fourteen-year-old Shiv Lamba heard the words of the Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee’s pronouncer just before 10 o’clock Monday night. He made the sign of a cross over his heart and stepped to the microphone. The word that stood between him and the championship: agama. He asked the usual series of questions: the word’s origin (Latin), its definition (a genus of old world terrestrial lizards including many that are of bright and changeable colors), and any alternate pronunciations (yes, two). Then he asked the pronouncer, Smart’s Mill Middle School Principal Will Waldman, to repeat the word two more times, before taking a deep breath and quickly rattling off five
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