Friends of Little Rocky Run

Latest news from the Little Rocky Run watershed

"We must leave our woods, waters and wildlife better than we found them, and we must dedicate ourselves to inspiring others to do the same." Jack Lorenz, Izaak Walton League

Reed and Brady Bushnell, pictured at left, joined us on 4/4 and, along with their mother, bagged a prodigious amount of trash.

FLRR logo by Joanna Sturz

Little Rocky Run is a stream in the southwest section of Fairfax County, Virginia.  It has some 22 miles of stream beds, counting both perennial and intermittent tributaries. Its headwaters originate in three areas.  One begins near I-66 and Stringfellow Road*, another near the junction of Fairfax County Parkway and U. S. 29 at the Ox Road Landfill, and the third near the intersection of Braddock Road and Blythewood Drive.  The headwater streams join together just north of U. S. 29 where they form a wetland.  From there the stream flows under 29, Braddock Road, and Compton Road and eventually empties into Bull Run Creek.  This water flows into the Occoquan Reservoir, which drains hundreds of square miles of surrounding land and is a main part of Fairfax County's drinking water. Because Little Rocky Run is part of Fairfax County's drinking water, its health is of vital concern to all of the residents of this county.  Unfortunately, the health of this stream is in peril.  High density development has resulted in a markedly decreased ability of the surrounding land to absorb rainwater. The land drained by a stream or river is called a watershed.  If 10% of a watershed becomes impervious to absorbing water, bad things start to happen.  The Little Rocky Run watershed is edging up to a 35% impervious rating. This is worrisome to say the least. Which is why Friends of Little Run was created.  Click on any of the links at right for more information and details as to what you can do to help. ______ *this section has been obliterated by development.  In time we will post a side-by-side photo comparison of the original tributary and what it is now.

2/24/2010 - current tally of bags of trash removed is 2,647. Want to help?  We do stuff just about every weekend.  Email us.

1/19/2010 - The annual Alice Ferguson cleanup is scheduled for April 10, 2010.  Our target area is Little Rocky Run between Centreville Farms Road and Stringfellow Road. Planning at this point is very preliminary, so stay tuned.  If you want to be sure you are on the email list for this event...click here. I already have your name if you participated last year.

11/7/2009 - Luke Messenger completed a laborious two-phased Eagle Scout project that restored a Little Rocky Run tributary.  Details here.

9/20/2009 - Tom Marotta completed a spectacular Eagle Scout Project in Bull Run Regional Park.  Volunteers removed 2 tons of trash and a commercial-sized portable toilet.  Details here.

7/25/2009 - Colin Maloney completed a magificent Eagle Scout Project and removed a major eyesore from near the Compton Road and Rt. 28 intersection.  Details here.

Here's an interesting link to an article that details Civil War action in the Little Rocky Run watershed.

4/4/2009 - For the annual Alice Ferguson Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, 55 volunteeers descended into the mud and brambles of Little Rocky Run between US 29 and Centreville Farms Road.  Parts of trucks and cars, tires, sheets of tin, ancient paint cans, and 98 bags of bottles, cans, etc. were taken out. Details/photos here.

Links: Map of Watershed and Mission Statement Calendar of Events - meetings, clean-ups, etc All-time Volunteer Projects Where to Report a Pollution Incident Little Rocky Run Volunteer Hall of Fame Tales About Our Watershed Virtual Tour of Little Rocky Run Official Little Rocky Run Trash Log Emergency Phone #s & Internet Links Contact us: nfoster@ix.netcom.com

Ever wonder where most of the trash in Little Rocky Run comes from?  Look at the picture to the right.  Too much of the trash in LRR starts with carelessness that results in garbage going into storm drains and then into the creek.  Please do your part to make Little Rocky Run clean by properly disposing of your trash, especially on windy days.  If you really want to help out, check out our "Want a Project?" section.

All materials on this site are copyright © 2003 Friends of Little Rocky Run unless otherwise noted. They may be used for educational purposes only and may not be distributed without prior approval from Friends of Little Rocky Run. All requests should be submitted via email to nfoster@ix.netcom.com.