Opinion
Save Happy Creek Coalition seeks public support in efforts to alter Town plan
Greetings from the member organizations of the Save Happy Creek Coalition (see signature for complete list). Some of us are all-volunteer groups, others have a small staff, including biologists, environmental scientists, foresters, and outdoor educators. We serve thousands of members in the region, including many outdoor recreationists such as hunters, anglers, hikers, and paddlers.
Please join us on Saturday, Nov 21, at 2 p.m. for a tour of the riparian buffer (the forested banks of the waterway) along Front Street. If you wish to bring a sign to demonstrate against the destruction of the streambanks, you are welcome to do so. To ensure proper COVID prevention measures as per Governor Northam’s guidelines, we prefer registration in advance:
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has stated its support of an amendment to the Happy Creek project to limit the damage underway – if our Town Council will agree to adjustments. We encourage you to contact Council members to voice your support for erosion prevention through the generation of re-growth by leaving remaining stumps in place. In addition, to stabilize areas where roots have been removed, grasses recommended by the Department of Conservation and Recreation should be planted for two years while native trees and shrubs are re-established.
We also recommend that the “bench” remains intact. The bench is that flat area you see below street level formed naturally by the stream itself during flood periods. The bench allows excess water to spread out, forming puddles as it recedes, for absorption by tree roots and soil. Eliminating this bench by stripping it bare and “sloping” it into a sharp angle lined with riprap will “channelize” Happy Creek into a water slide, increasing water velocity and volume that will destroy wildlife habitat and increase damage to businesses and homes downstream. We support the installation of riprap only as needed within 100 feet of the creek’s bridges, interspersed with low-growing native shrubs and grasses.
Above, After; below, Before – Courtesy Photos Tree Stewards
Before: A riparian buffer no longer in place along Happy Creek’s bank on Front Royal’s southside as Tree Stewards plant the now ‘deceased’ willow tree on a rainy Arbor Day 2016.
Our recommendations align with the Riparian Buffers Guidance Manual (Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation), which states that “Benefits derived from vegetated riparian buffers, especially forested buffers, include water quality enhancement, stormwater, and flood water management, stream bank and shoreline stabilization … wildlife habitat protection, and absorption of airborne pollutants … translat(ing) into increased quality of life and real savings for the community.”
Headquartered in Albany, NY, CHA Consulting is the engineering firm that developed the substandard plans leading to the county’s stop-work order. The plan originated in CHA’s Blacksburg office, 200 miles from Front Royal. We believe that CHA Consulting owes Warren County residents and our Town Council a refund and an apology for submitting such shoddy work.
In April, the Council hired CHA to conduct a $1.3 million study for a redundant waterline across the Shenandoah, a much-needed back-up supply for the Route 522 corridor, and especially the Dominion Energy plant (which supplies electricity to Northern Virginia, not Warren County). Depending on placement, the waterline could also open northern Warren County for development.
Hopefully CHA will do a better job on that study and state agencies will be more on the ball than they were with the Happy Creek permits. Meanwhile, the Town’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officer will be happy to provide you with a copy of the CHA contract and competitors’ bid sheets. Then you can decide for yourself whether this was good stewardship of your tax dollars. Gaining access to these documents is easy: www.opengovva.org/virginias-foia-resources.
Finally, a sincere thanks to the Front Royal Town Council – the Town crew now seems to be restricting its cutting to trees less than 4” in diameter. This adjustment accords with the Town’s statement on its website over the Halloween weekend: “No trees larger than approximately 4 inches are being removed.” We applaud the Council in standing true to its word, as this will not only clear out some of the underbrush but benefits the remaining trees. A restored buffer will improve the enjoyment of YOUR Royal Shenandoah Greenway.
Thank you for speaking out.
Save Happy Creek Coalition: Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley, Beautification of Front Royal Committee, Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Front Royal/Warren County Appalachian Trail Community, Front Royal/Warren County Tree Stewards, Izaak Walton League, Shenandoah Riverkeeper, Sustainability Matters – and our affiliate, the Garden Club of Warren County