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Photo by rvaMORE
In summer, most people arriving at Pocahontas State Park on Saturday have their mountain bikes, coolers and camping gear in tow.
Not so the morning of Saturday, Aug. 22. Those arriving at the park that day came equipped with hand tools, shovels and rakes. They were ready to work after floods had devastated the park a week earlier — and they numbered around 400 strong.
Word of the volunteer workday had spread widely that week through social media and local news.
“We had volunteers messaging us and calling us in advance of the event asking how they could help,” Assistant Park Manager of Administration Amelia Hulth said. “When you see the community coming together, spending their weekend off and bringing their families out to help, it makes you feel good, and it makes our community even stronger.”
The volunteer day was well orchestrated, said Roger Sattler, president of rvaMORE, a nonprofit trail advocacy group that works frequently in the park.
Many volunteers belonged to groups such as rvaMORE, the Friends of Pocahontas State Park, the Pocahontas Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners and more.
“Everyone broke into productive groups, and by lunchtime all the main corridors we were working on were clear,” Sattler said. “That was great.”
Volunteers cleared trails, removed debris and recovered boating equipment that had been carried away by floodwaters. Work that would have taken park staff weeks to complete was done in a few hours.
“What I keep saying is 2020 has been a hard year for everyone,” Hulth said. “It’s been hard for parks, it’s been hard for the community. When you add something like a flood to it, it can feel disheartening. But Pocahontas State Park has strong community ties. We put the word out that we needed help, and the response was more than we ever could have asked for.”
Park Manager Nate Clark thinks it’s possible more than 400 volunteers showed up.
“I heard stories of long-time volunteers, first-time volunteers, folks who use the park and felt the need to give back, and people who just happened to visit that day and pitched in to help,” he said. “It's humbling to know that Pocahontas and public lands mean so much to so many. We're deeply grateful to our incredible volunteers.”
Sattler says the epic response is a testament to the quality of the park and the opportunities it provides.
“It just goes to show how important outdoor spaces are, particularly Pocahontas, during the months of the pandemic,” he said. “People want to have the park restored so everyone can keep enjoying it. Pocahontas is a really special place that we are lucky to have.”
The park’s boat rental facility is closed for the rest of the season. Many trails at the park remain closed, including mountain bike trails. For trail updates, check the Facebook page for FOPSP, or text "POCA" to 804-292-2939.
Torrential rains and Swift Creek Lake dam
The slow-moving storm that deluged Pocahontas began Aug. 15. The Richmond region was already saturated from previous storms that week. Flood watches and warnings were in effect most of the day. Especially heavy flooding occurred south of the James River, causing road closures, swift water rescues and even some evacuations in Chesterfield County.
Areas of Pocahontas saw an unprecedented 14 inches of rainfall in a short period. As sections of the park closed and roads became impassable, park staff and DCR engineers kept watch on the Swift Creek Lake dam, a historic concrete structure built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Water levels at the dam reached 10 ft. above normal stages, but the dam performed the job it was designed to do.
The Swift Creek Lake dam under flood conditions.
The dam recently underwent significant upgrades, which likely helped keep people and property safe during the torrential rains. Upgrades completed in 2018 included new sluice gates, which are opened or closed to control water flow, and reinforcement of concrete on the downstream slope and toe of the dam.
A failure of Swift Creek Lake dam could not only impact park visitors and recreational amenities at one of Virginia’s busiest state parks. It also could impact people at 32 homes and a business in the dam’s inundation zone.
The dam was a highlight of Virginia’s 2019 Dam Safety Awareness Day tour.
Categories
Dam Safety and Floodplains | Soil and Water Conservation | State Parks
Tags
flood control | state parks
