Land Development Handbook
Sidney O. Dewberry, Editor in Chief
Lisa N. Rauenzahn, Coordinating Editor
Now in its third edition, Dewberry's Land Development Handbook is considered an indispensible guide to the complex process of land development. Engineers, planners, surveyors, architects, attorneys, developers and anyone else involved in the process will find this 1100-page text a clear, in-depth guide to an otherwise confusing process.
Dewberry Annual Review
Guidance in a Time of Transition
Dewberry’s 2008 Annual Review uses five photographic spreads to tell unique stories of how Dewberry is working with clients through uncertain times.
Making a Difference in Your World and in Your Neighborhood
The 2007 Dewberry Annual Review features how the firm continues to work with clients to make a difference through its professional engineering and architecture services.
Architecture
BRAC Joint Regional Correctional Facility, 2009 Justice Facilities Review, The American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Justice, Washington, D.C.
Dewberry's design of the facility received an American Institute of Architects certificate and is published on page 36 of the Justice Facilities Review
Funding a Bright Future: Investments in Educational Facilities Strengthen Programs, Attract Students
Don White, RA
Published in the December 2009 issue of InterBusiness Issues, this article features multiple new construction initiatives at Bradley University, Illinois Central College and Peoria School District 150.
Creating Meaningful Futures: Involvement of Families and Businesses Can Make a Difference in Education
Paul Kouri, AIA
Originally published in the September 2009 issue of InterBusiness Issues, Kouri addresses the importance of parent and business involvement in a child's education and how the Peoria, Illinois, community is contributing.
Safety & Security: Oklahoma Forensic Center Provides Secure Healthcare Environment
From Healthcare Construction & Operations March/April 2009, page 12
PSA-Dewberry employees James M. Matarelli, AIA, and Gregory D. Markert, AIA, are quoted extensively in this Facility of the Month feature. The 200-bed forensic center is a state-of-the art facility housing patients deemed incompetent to stand trial.
"About the Cover" and "Member News" (180KB PDF)
PSA-Dewberry's design of Ashburn Library, Ashburn, VA, and Thurmont Regional Library, Frederick County, MD, are featured in the March issue of AIA/DC News. Mentioned in the publication are recognition for the Ashburn Library design: 2008 Signatures of Loudoun Design Excellence Award, which commends notable building projects throughout Loudoun County; and Best New Building Award from the Northern Virginia chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks.
Courtesy of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
Build Green and Build Value (1.4MB PDF)
Ray Lees, Principal
Originally published in the September 2008 issue of InterBusiness Issues, Lees addresses how sustainable building makes good business sense.
A Vision for Growth (1.4MB PDF)
J. Thomas Seymour, AIA, Executive Vice President
Originally published in the August 2008 issue of American School & University, Seymour discusses how expanding an education campus within established neighborhoods requires creativity and engagement.
Environmental Magnet
From Environmental Design + Construction, March 3, 2008.
Dewberry's system design work of the Environmental Magnet School in New Haven, Connecticut, is featured in this article. Link is provided with permission from the publication.
Tiered, Steel Roof Softens Profile of New Police Training Center (3MB PDF)
From The Metal Initiative, September 2007
The PSA-Dewberry designed Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Training Center (CLEET) is featured in this article which highlights the use of a zinc grey, multi-tiered steel roof.
Recreational Architecture (414KB PDF)
From Metal Architecture, May 2007
This article describes how metal was an important aesthetic feature in PSA-Dewberry's design of the East Campus Recreation Center for the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Framing the Problem — Use a Broader Approach to Alleviate Overcrowding (386KB PDF)
Margaret S. Bower, Senior Planner
Originally published in the May/June 2007 issue of Correctional News (www.correctionalnews.com), Bower discusses options for alleviating the issue of jail crowding.
Light-Filled in Loudoun (735KB PDF)
This 2006 article from the Virginia Society AIA's Inform magazine features the Ashburn Library in Ashburn, VA, which was designed by PSA-Dewberry.
Riverfront Revitalization
James Kemper
PSA-Dewberry, Peoria, IL
March/April issue of Revitalization magazine
The article describes PSA-Dewberry's renovation of the 401 Water Street building where they now have their headquarters.
Courting Success - BIM Marshals Multiple Disciplines for Federal Courthouse Design Synchronicity
Volume 4, Issue 4 of BE MAGAZINE, Bentley’s quarterly digital magazine.
The article describes the work of design team PSA-Dewberry and Koetter, Kim & Associates and its design of the new United States Courthouse in Rockford, Illinois.
Ethics and Management
The Ethical Professional Engineer
Sidney O. Dewberry, Chairman of the Board
In a speech given to the 2005 graduating class of the Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering Department at George Mason University on May 17, 2005, Dewberry Chairman of the Board Sidney O. Dewberry, PE, LS discusses the ethical challenges that the graduates will face in their professional careers.
Open for Business: PEs Stress Careful Planning When Starting New Offices
From PE, The Magazine for Professional Engineers (published by the National Society of Professional Engineers)
Tim McCormick, PE, CFM, vice president with Dewberry's federal programs department contributes to this article about how successful engineering firms have met the challenges of expanding geographically and building a local presence.
Building Engineering
The Road to Code Acceptance for Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (241KB PDF)
Keith Itzler, PE
Dewberry, New York City
From Structure, May 2009
Itzler's case study gives a thorough overview of the history of AAC's approval as well as insight into future usage. Article provided by Structure; www.structuremag.com.
How One Hospital Improved Its Emergency Cooling Plan (1.5MB PDF)
Dan Koenigshofer, PE, MSPH
Dewberry, Chapel Hill
From Building Operating Management, May 2009
As hospitals expand and upgrade facilities, facility executives should carefully review the capacity of the physical plant’s basic infrastructure. Power and cooling capacity in particular are critical to daily operations. In this article, Koenigshofer describes how a review of power and cooling systems should include a focus on emergency power planning.
HVAC: Better Cooling Choices — Cheaper, Too
Russell James, President, TOLK (A Dewberry company)
Building Operating Management magazine
March 2003
Conventional wisdom often tends to lead owners, contractors, and designers down the same path when it comes to HVAC system design. Many owners still believe that they must spend more in first costs to achieve higher efficiency and superior HVAC system results. But rather than focus on the individual pieces of HVAC equipment — and the price tag that comes with each component — there are often significant benefits to building owners and occupants when engineers explore an overall systematic approach to HVAC design. An initial investment of time in the early stages of design, along with the application of a few basic fundamentals, can yield superior HVAC systems at a lower overall first cost — without sacrificing quality.
Floodplain Management
Dewberry Steps Out in Adaptation Consulting (612 KB PDF)
Climate Change Business Journal, Volume II No. 11, November 2009.
Dewberry's Jerry Sparks, PE, CFM, is interviewed in this profile on the company's initial success supporting clients and their climate change initiatives.
Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy
National Research Council of the National Academies
Committee on FEMA Flood Maps
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources/Mapping Science Committee
Water Science Technology Board
2009
The National Research Council has released a report on the accuracy of flood maps. Dewberry's Dave Maune, PhD, CP, CFM was on the Committee on FEMA Flood Maps, and Stephanie Dunham, PE, and Jerry Sparks, PE, CFM, are acknowledged for supporting computations.
Evaluation of Sea Level Rise for FEMA Flood Insurance Studies: Magnitudes and Time-Frame of Relevance (180KB PDF)
Brian K. Batten, Dewberry
Paul Weberg, FEMA Region II
Mat Mampara, Dewberry
Long Xu, Dewberry
Presented at the 2008 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference, this study investigates whether current and anticipated rates of sea level rise are relevant to the National Flood Insurance Program considering current product lifecycles.
A FIRM Grasp of GIS (2MB PDF)
Matt Freeman, ESRI
Point of Beginning
October 2008
While many firms are beginning to employ modern GIS software “out of the box” to manage spatial information more efficiently and enhance their mapmaking capabilities, Dewberry is figuring out how to leverage advanced capabilities to create electronic maps that can be used as tools to analyze trends, conduct “what-ifs,” and provide input into decision-making processes related to land use and development.
History of Coastal Inundation Models
William G. Massey, Jeffrey W. Gangai, Elena Drei-Horgan, Kevin J. Slover
Dewberry, Atlanta and Dewberry, Fairfax
Marine Technology Society Journal, 41(1):7-17
Hurricanes, Nor’easters, winter storms and tsunamis cause damaging and destructive inundation of coastal areas. The development and implementation of numerical models allows natural events to be replicated so that their potential effect can be known and lives and property protected. Although a brief overview of the numerical characteristics of each model is provided in this paper, the paper aims to highlight their function and application as forecasting, planning, warning and monitoring tools, while detailing the chronological development of coastal inundation models.
The Marine Technology Society is a not-for-profit, international, professional association. Founded in 1963, the Society believes that the advancement of marine technology and the productive, sustainable use of the oceans depend upon the active exchange of ideas between government, industry, and academia. See www.mtsociety.org.
This article is for personal use only, and should not be copied or distributed in any format.
Standing DFIRM
Zekrollah Momeni, PE, CFM and Kedrick Logsdon, Jr., EIT
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
Professional Surveyor Magazine
July 2007
To handle the challenges of increased work and decentralized staffing, Dewberry developed GeoFIRM—a GIS-based approach to hazard engineering and mapping that relies on technology and automation to produce DFIRMs out of a centralized spatial database or geodatabase. This article appeared in the July 2007 issue of Professional Surveyor Magazine and is displayed with permission. Copyright 2007 by Reed Business Geo, Inc.
Developing a GIS Framework to Identify Acquisition Cost-effective Structures of a Floodplain
Kaveh Zomorodi, Ph.D.
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
Presented at the Association of Floodplain Managers Annual Conference
May 2003
We are developing a GIS framework for quick-automated identification and mapping of the cost-effective structures within a floodplain. The new framework consists of two components. The first component is a simplified BCA method that allows decision-making about cost-effectiveness of each structure and the second component is a GIS application that overlays an Enhanced DFIRM and a DTM of the area and performs the required calculations and produces maps of the results. The first component is already intact and functional and has been verified by extensive testing. Development and of the second component, the GIS interface, is underway. A brief description of this methodology is described in this paper.
Geographic Information
Digital Elevation Model Technologies and Applications: The DEM Users Manual
Editor and principal author David F. Maune, Ph.D., CP, CFM
Senior Project Manager
2001
Published by the American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing.
"DEM" stands for Digital Elevation Model, a term that has a generic meaning to some as well as a more specific meaning to others. This DEM Users Manual is designed to help potential users of digital elevation data understand and articulate their requirements in a way that their expectations are satisfied or exceeded.
FEMA's Mapping and Surveying Guidelines and Specifications
David F. Maune, Ph.D., CP, CFM
Senior Project Manager
Proceedings of the Fall 2003 Conference of the American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing
October 2003
Why is it that states and counties often advertise for LIDAR data for diverse applications, but then specify that the data must satisfy requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)? What are those FEMA requirements, and why are they sometimes considered as the de facto industry standard for LIDAR? Does FEMA mandate the use of LIDAR, or can other means of ground and/or aerial surveys be used? This paper answers these questions and explains FEMA's standards for digital elevation data regardless of whether requirements are satisfied by LIDAR or other technologies such as photogrammetry or IFSAR.
LIDAR and IFSAR: Pitfalls and Opportunities For Our Future
David F. Maune, Ph.D., CP, CFM
Dewberry
Carlton Daniel
U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center
James Damron
U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) have recently become the technologies of choice in mass production of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), and Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs), referred to generically hereafter as DEMs. This paper presents lessons learned from LIDAR projects to date in various states. It addresses opportunities presented by LIDAR and IFSAR for generating DEMs as articulated by various user groups in the National Height Modernization Study. Finally, it summarizes actions required by the remote sensing community to establish LIDAR and IFSAR as standard tools, with established standards, for generating digital elevation data for the new millennium.
Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Dewberry Steps Out in Adaptation Consulting (612 KB PDF)
Climate Change Business Journal, Volume II No. 11, November 2009.
Dewberry's Jerry Sparks, PE, CFM, is interviewed in this profile on the company's initial success supporting clients and their climate change initiatives.
Last Line of Defense (1.4MB PDF)
The PSA-Dewberry-designed Jack Evans Police Headquarters in Dallas, TX, is used as an example of how building design can contribute to homeland security in this article from the July 2006 issue of Homeland Protection Professional magazine.
Mutual Aid During Disasters: EMAC is Reaching Out to Public Works (131KB PDF)
Laurence W. Zensinger
Dewberry
Fairfax, VA
Reprinted from the January 2007 issue of APWA Reporter, Zensinger provides an overview of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact's (EMAC) role in a public emergency and how the mutual aid compact is taking steps to be more effective in times of need.
Protecting Infrastructure Against Attack
Laurence W. Zensinger
Dewberry
Fairfax, VA
Reprinted from BE Magazine, www.be.org/BEmagazine, Zensinger explains what he sees as three key measures needed in policy makers' and private infrastructure owners' most challenging security mission: to protect critical infrastructure.
Land Development
Agency Know-How Can Streamline the Development Process (611KB PDF)
Orlando Miquel Jr.
Dewberry, New York City
From New York Real Estate Journal, Aug. 15-21, 2006
It’s imperative in any development project to involve the civil engineer early on in the planning process. A licensed engineer will help to ensure that the project will meet all required codes (beyond the requirements of the New York City Department of Buildings) while minimizing potential problems that may involve costly retrofits and adjustments later on in the process.
Site Civil
Designed to Save Lives (435KB PDF)
The Professional Engineer, Late Winter-Early Spring 2009
This article features how a Dewberry-designed combat vehicle operator's training course is helping to prepare Marines and boost confidence.
Site civil technology automation (174KB PDF)
David Palumbo, PE
Dewberry, Bloomfield, NJ
CE News, July 2009 (www.cenews.com)
Palumbo describes how Dewberry's in-house focus group established process to evaluate software solutions to unify operations and adopt modern site civil design tools.
Surveying
Surveyors Report: Interesting Times Ahead (98KB PDF)
Joseph W. Betit, LS
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
The American Surveyor, March 2007 (www.amerisurv.com)
Joseph W. Betit gives a brief overview of trends in surveying.
Telecommunications
Regional Backbone Initiative Network Opens Across Southside (259KB PDF)
From Virginia Town and City's November 2006 issue, this article gives an overview of this unique public-private initiative, the Regional Backbone Initiative Network, which is a 700-mile open-access telecommunications infrastructure across Southside Virginia.
Creative Communications: Telecom Tower Installation
Patrick Barry
Dewberry
Boston, MA
More and more frequently, property owners, zoning boards, historical commissions, and the general public are calling upon telecommunications companies to explore creative installations that minimize the visual impact of telecommunications structures. Barry gives examples of some creative solutions that Dewberry has developed.
Transportation
Do-Over the Rainbow (266KB PDF)
Michael P. Sears, PE
Dewberry, Bloomfield
From Roads & Bridges magazine, May 2009 (www.roadsbridges.com)
Emergency repairs restore this damaged bridge in the townships of Pittsgrove and Salem County, NJ, ahead of schedule.
Pentagon Bypass Wins Design-Build Award (349KB PDF)
From Better Roads magazine, May 2007 (www.betterroads.com)
Recently recognized by the Design-Build Institute of America for outstanding transportation design, the Virginia Route 110 design-build project is featured in this article about combining security with good design.
The Balancing Act: Seismic Assessment and Design (111KB PDF)
Andy Ko, Ph.D., PE
Dewberry, New York City
From Bridges magazine, August 2006
It is imperative that engineers safeguard their clients’ budgets and public safety by applying sound engineering judgment regarding the application of seismic codes. When addressing a seismic retrofit, owners and engineers must explore a balanced approach to the design that considers the overall performance of the bridge, the types of seismic events that are likely to occur, and the appropriateness of the retrofit recommendations.
Public-Private Project Delivery in the Commonwealth: A Designers' Perspective (3.6MB PDF document)
Dave Mahoney, PE, Dewberry
Dan Moore, AIA, PSA-Dewberry
Dan Pleasant, PE, Dewberry
Fairfax, VA
Bulletin, published by the Washington Building Congress
In Virginia, the passage of the Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) and Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) has significantly altered how design and construction firms approach project delivery. Dewberry has been the lead designer on the first PPTA in Northern Virginia - Route 28 Corridor Improvements design-build contract for just under four years.
A Logical Approach To Roadway Lighting Design (PDF document)
M. G. ElGazzar
Dewberry
Fairfax, VA
The roadway lighting design process is of sufficient complexity that a logical and systematic approach is needed. This paper describes such an approach using a flow chart as a guiding tool, with careful attention to critical points in making decisions, quality control, and budgeting time and resources. This approach provides a logical basis for selecting lighting fixtures, fixture mounting heights, setbacks, configurations, and fixture spacing. Special attention is given to lighting pollution issues with emphasis on solving the problems of glare, urban sky glow, and light trespassing.
Rehabilitation of Three East Pine Street Bridges
P.J. Swanton
Dewberry, New York, NY
Presented at the Second New York City Bridge Conference
October 2003
The existing three span bridges over the canals on East Pine Street in the City of Long Beach, NY, were rehabilitated to single-span bridges. To achieve this, a number of obstacles were overcome, including procuring funding, meeting headroom restrictions for marine traffic, allowing for grade change limits for road users, abandoning of the initial precast concrete segmental design at 95% completion, fast tracking design on a new alternative to meet fiscal deadlines, and developing a three-dimensional model to ensure that the load transfer between members satisfied deflection limits.
Water Resources
The Harlem River Bank Restoration-Designing The Edge
January 2010
Sufian A. Khondker, Ph.D, P.E, D.WRE, F. ASCE, Dewberry; Ricardo A. Hinkle, RLA, City of New York Parks & Recreation, and Kim L. Liew, PE, Dewberry
This paper elaborates on how the Parks Department collaborated with Dewberry on engineering design for the Harlem River Park waterfront incorporating solutions that support estuarine life, reduce wave energy, provide greenery, bioremediation and safe access.
Presented at the Environmental & Water Resources Institute' s India 2010: 3rd International Perspective on Current & Future State of Water Resources & the Environment, January 5-7, 2010, Chennai, India
A Simple Equation for Predicting the PMF Peak Flow Generated by the 5-point Distribution PMP
September 2008
Kaveh Zomorodi, PhD, PE, CFM
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
The 24-hour NRCS "5-point" rainfall distribution is considered a valid alternative PMP distribution for many NRCS dams and is expected to become an acceptable PMP distribution in many jurisdictions. This paper describes a short-cut method in form of a simple equation for predicting the PMF dam peak inflow based on the 5-point PMP.
Bangladesh: Rivers and Water Problems
"Hello Washington" on Voice of America, hosted by Shameem Chawdhury
July 23, 2008
Dr. Sufian A. Khondker, PE
Dewberry, New York City, NY
Dr. Khondker speaks about Bangladesh's river and water problems on the international broadcasting service, Voice of America.
Stormwater Utilties Report for North Carolina Communities
6.9MB PDF
September 2006
Dewberry compiled this report on North Carolina Communities that currently have Stormwater Utilities to identify trends in the establishment of rates and rate structures. The data was obtained from websites and phone interviews.
Curve Number And Groundwater Recharge Credits for LID Facilities in New Jersey
Kaveh Zomorodi, Ph.D.
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
Presented at the Low Impact Development Conference at College Park, MD
September 2004
A series of simplified tools were developed to quantify the impact of various LID facilities in controlling the runoff volume and providing groundwater recharge in New Jersey. This paper presents these LID impact quantification equations and charts and discusses the implementation of these tools in New Jersey and elsewhere.
Revising the NRCS Sheet Flow Travel Time Equation for Flatlands
Kaveh Zomorodi, Ph.D.
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
2005
Presented at the AWRA 2005 Water Resources Conference in Seattle, WA In this study a new equation was developed to revise the NRCS equation to better predict the sheet flow travel time for pervious relatively flat surfaces receiving the New Jersey design precipitation events (NRCS Type III storm distribution).
Local Government Watershed Planning
City of Greensboro, NC
Kenneth A. Carper, PE
Dewberry, Raleigh, NC
Scott D. Bryant, PE
NSPE, City of Greensboro, NC
The City of Greensboro Local Watershed Planning program strives to provide a strong linkage between the physical data, analytical results, and the technical basis for management decisions. Customized tools have been developed to facilitate this process. Opportunities to collaborate with state and federal programs are on-going, and will continue where it makes efficient use of limited available resources.
Low Impact Development: Integrated Management Practices and Policies
William S. Springer, PE
Presented at the Association of Floodplain Managers Annual Conference
May 2003
Low-impact development (LID) is a relatively new process whereby engineers and site developers implement ways to help reduce peak runoff from a site and improve post-construction water quality conditions. LID promotes trying to duplicate the pre-developed hydrologic pattern of a watershed by providing a series of integrated management practices, such as reducing impervious areas, disconnecting standard drainage systems, and creating many small areas of ponding and water quality enhancements as opposed to a single stormwater management basin in the lower part of the watershed.
Quantifying Groundwater Recharge From Detention Basins To Forested Buffers In New Jersey
Kaveh Zomorodi, Ph.D.
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
2003
The New Jersey stormwater management regulations require the post-development annual groundwater recharge volumes match those of the pre-development conditions. In parts of New Jersey, field observations have shown that most or all of the water released at low discharge rates from detention basins to forested buffers infiltrate into the soil within a short distance. However, there are no computational tools available to quantify the volume of the annual groundwater recharge expected from this practice. This study was conducted to develop a general solution methodology.
Simplified Solutions for Groundwater Mounding Under Stormwater Infiltration Facilities
Kaveh Zomorodi, Ph.D.
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
2005
Recently, the author developed a number of Low Impact Development (LID) quantitative calculation tools for the State of New Jersey that deal both with surface water and groundwater (Zomorodi, 2003, and Dewberry, 2002). Some of these tools (such as the groundwater recharge calculation spreadsheet) have already been adopted and some other ones (such as Curve Number reduction Charts and the groundwater mounding equations presented in this paper) are in the process of being adopted in the New Jersey BMP Manual.
Water and Wastewater
City of Petersburg, WV, Wastewater Plant: a Unique Low O&M Cost Facility for Nutrient Reduction
City of Petersburg, WV
Gary L. Nickerson, PE
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
Rodney A. Collins
City of Falls Church, VA
Richard A. Harper
City of Petersburg Wastewater Plant
This paper presents the case history of the Petersburg, WV, wastewater plant, a unique configuration of the oxidation ditch, which has demonstrated nutrient reduction potential without further significant capital improvements or addition of costly chemicals. This paper was first presented WEFTEC 2005 on November 1, 2005 during session 45 at 8:30 a.m.
Municipal Wastewater Pump Station Design Problems and Solutions
Jeff Chapin, PE
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
2006
The growth of the Northern Virginia Area around Washington DC, has resulted in the requirement for numerous new wastewater pumping stations and the upgrade and expansion of existing pump stations. This paper presents practical problems and solutions associated with the following pump station design issues: 1.) Concrete Corrosion Protection, 2.) Corrosion Resistant Materials, 3.) Pump Protection from Influent Sewage Debris, 4.) Pump Selection Based on Total Dynamic Head Calculations, 5.) Energy Efficient Operation, 6.) Pump Station Appearance, 7.) Surge Protection, 8.) Rehabilitation of Existing Pump Stations, 9.)Odor Control, 10.) Prevention of Leakage into the Pump Station Structures, 11.) Provisions for Future Expansion and 12.) Grit Deposition in Wet Wells Sized for Future Flow Rates.
Low Pressure Sewer System For Affluent Existing Neighborhood
Jeff Chapin, PE
Dewberry, Fairfax, VA
2007
The River Oaks subdivision is a mature residential community located in Fairfax, County Virginia. The subdivision consists of 114 existing single family dwelling units with individual septic tank drainfields. The Fairfax County Health Department determined that several drainfields had failed and were concerned that others would soon fail. To prevent the health and environmental issues associated with failing drainfields, a wastewater collection system was installed to convey wastewater to the nearby County integrated sewer system.
