LBWID advances FY‑2026 budget and pursues state and federal funding for dam armoring

Lake Barcroft Water Improvement District trustees were told that the district’s FY‑2026 budget was approved by the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District board on Feb. 25 and has been forwarded to the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board for review, district staff said.

Staff updated trustees on grant activity tied to the Lake Barcroft dam embankment armoring project. The district said it will submit its second quarterly DCR Dam Safety grant report by April 30 and will seek reimbursement for qualifying expenditures from the first and second quarters under a $315,000 DCR grant. Staff also reported that FEMA’s $205,000 dam safety grant remains frozen while a Department of Governmental and Executive (DOGE) review proceeds; FEMA has requested additional documentation from DCR and LBWID, including a quarterly milestone workplan and a letter committing to the required 35 percent non‑federal match, with the requested documentation due to DCR by March 28.

Staff said the Virginia General Assembly included $500,000 in the 2024–2026 biennial budget for engineering work on the embankment armoring project; the governor has returned amendments and the funding source moved between accounts, so the district awaits reconciliation and final action as the budgets are reconciled.

Engineering and design work is advancing: WRA has moved into detailed design for east and west embankments and will undertake soil and rock borings; GKY is updating inundation zone modeling to account for regulatory changes and proposed embankment armoring and to simulate reductions in downstream flooding with the project implemented.

The district did not present a final construction timeline or contractor list at the meeting. Staff said they will submit the DCR inspection report by April 30 and continue to provide updates as grant reimbursements and state budget reconciliations proceed.