With Hanna, Flood of Bad Memories in Huntington

What caused Fairfax County's working-class Huntington neighborhood to flood again over the weekend is easy enough to understand: The local waterway was moved closer to homes decades ago during a Capital Beltway construction project and has filled with silt. Development upstream has also sped the onrush of runoff.

Harder to grasp -- or at least, for many residents, to accept -- is the flow of political decisions that have left hundreds of residents of one of the nation's richest counties unprotected from even moderate storms.

"Most of us that are in it feel like the government has really done diddly squat," said Kate Wersinger, a secretary at a District law firm who bought her home south of Alexandria four years ago. Her retaining wall held back the water this time, but the $60,000 in damage from a 2006 storm was still weighing heavily yesterday.

Residents could still see the silty residue of Tropical Storm Hanna on their roads and sidewalks yesterday, signs that, yet again, brown storm waters had rushed over the banks of Cameron Run and into their lives. The damage was minimal -- four basements flooded, and sheds full of equipment and mementos were drenched.

But also left behind was the fear and frustration that comes with the perpetual threat of flooding, and the realization that, even in the sunniest of scenarios, a fix could still be years away. Studies since the 1970s have called for major improvements.

As Randy Bartlett, the engineer in charge of storm water management for Fairfax County, sees it, the swirl of activity since the treacherous floods in 2006 that damaged more than half the neighborhood's 300-plus homes should not be dismissed.

Under a contract with Fairfax County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is drawing plans for a large berm and pumping station to keep Huntington safe for good. Such far-reaching projects can take five to seven years to complete, Bartlett said, adding that this one is on schedule. And as is obvious from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, taking shortcuts on major flood control projects is not an option, he said.

The proposed berm would be about 2,500 feet long and would reach to about 20 feet above sea level. It would stand between the community and the waterway. Once built, a pumping system would be needed to make sure water does not get caught inside the levee, he said.

"You've got to watch it from both sides. That's why it's not a simple, 'Just go do this thing.' . . . You have to make sure you don't trap the water behind it," Bartlett said.

The hang-up, however, is not an engineering one. The key problem, even with the most sturdy flood control plan, is this: The $30 million needed for the project has not been found.

The Army Corps last year ruled the project ineligible for corps funding following its own cost-benefit analysis. In February, Fairfax officials called for a three-way split, with the local, state and federal governments each kicking in $10 million.

Bartlett contends that the project has not been delayed by financial uncertainties.