Lake Barcroft History Book

Four workmen are trying to figure out how to repair the decrepit old dam gates back in the 1960’s. These wooden gates were supposed to open
automatically during a storm, but usually they stuck. In fact, most of them stayed closed during Hurricane Agnes causing the failure of the Barcroft
Dam and thus the creation of the Watershed Improvement District. (May 1963)
negotiating with homeowners for easements to move
equipment across their properties. He was successful in this
and many other endeavors supporting the community. Later,
he would be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. As for
a solicitation for bids, the county, BBI, LABARCA and a
consulting engineer each had an interest in the project, thus
causing significant delays in the process. Finally, in 1960, the
bids for the actual dredging went out; the only response,
unfortunately, was $105,000 over the budget allocated. To stay
within the amount of funds available for the project, two
major changes had to be made: (1) the idea of moving the silt
to another location was dropped and replaced by the
construction of peninsulas and islands using the dredged
sediment; and (2) a major portion of the requirement to
stabilize the banks with stone (called “riprap”) was deleted.
Eventually, all the parties involved came to an agreement on
the project and negotiated a contract with the successful
bidder, Morauer and Hartzell, Inc., on May 1, 1961.
BBI lowered the lake level five feet and work commenced.
Dredging in those days used high-boom draglines and dump
trucks riding on “underwater roads” made of rock and gravel
next to two silt basins. The contractor built dikes and filled in
the areas that became, in 1962, peninsulas at Beach 3 and
Beach 5. Although homeowners at the Holmes Run end of the
lake would have preferred to keep their tranquil, water view
rather than gaze at a bare island, there was not much choice.
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Tree stumps and gravel beds with stones four to six inches in
diameter posed special obstacles at Tripps Run. On both sides
of the Tripps Run channel, the silt was used to build up lots,
which are now located on Beachway and Waterway Drives.
Some lakefront property owners seized the opportunity to pay
for improvements to their shoreline, thus enhancing the
general appearance of the community by ridding the lake of
weeds and lily pads.
After eighteen months, the original dredging program came to
an end; 116,000 cubic yards of silt were concentrated in new
locations creating the Holmes Run island and the peninsulas at
beaches 5 and 3. The project had been a massive undertaking
for planners and implementers, who often learned from their
mistakes. One major error involved the underwater sediment
basins at each end of the lake. Designed to collect heavier silt
particles, the basins were estimated to have capacities that
would last for twenty or twenty-five years. Two years later, they
were full, however. Realistically, dredging and the associated
costs would prove to be continuing problems. Again, the
association successfully addressed the issue by using a littleknown
law to fund local projects. Under the unlikely title
“Small Sanitary District,” the association approved selfimposed
taxation, which paid for dredging and other
important engineering improvements over the next ten years—
yet another clever solution to a seemingly intractable problem.