Southwest Arlington residents call on city for help as backyard creek eats their land

With a running start, Charlie Kilpatrick could hop across the trickling creek in his backyard when he bought his home in southwest Arlington in 2004. Now, he fears the Rush Creek tributary could wash away him or his grandchildren after a downpour.

The stream, unofficially named “Misty Creek” after a nearby street, makes the property lines in the Estates Above Wimbledon look like a jigsaw puzzle. The 16-foot-wide waterway separates Kilpatrick and others from the rest of their land. The creek was about four feet wide in 2004 if there was no rain, Kilpatrick said. However, heavy rains nowadays create fast-moving currents.

“It’s like a roaring rapid,” Kilpatrick said.

Conditions are worsening, homeowners said, after a public ditch was lined with cement near Mansfield Road and Thames Drive, and as commercial development continues. Residents around the tributary have asked for help several times from the city, but have been told the creek’s upkeep has been the homeowners’ responsibility since the homes were built.

Additionally, Arlington’s public works and transportation department does not address erosion issues unless they endanger city roads, utilities or safety, said Amy Cannon, the department’s assistant director.

“Really in terms of this creek right here, nobody is flooding at this point,” Cannon said in a phone interview. “We also do not have any public infrastructure that is at risk. The sewer line is still out of the way, the roadways are not eroding out in the area, and so we actually would not do a project in this area based on the policies that we have in place to prioritize our projects.”

However, Kilpatrick’s neighbor Martin Lisius said the city should reconsider channeling stormwater drainage through the tributary and address the issue that he said is due in part to its design.

“The city has to be responsible for the infrastructure that they create,” Lisius said. “They have to see it through.”

Raul Gonzalez, who represents the district on the City Council, said council should look at the issue, which city employees have taken up several times. He asked representatives to hear out the residents, several of whom aired their concerns to officials in early April.

“We’ll see where it goes, but I think the city needs to look at it for sure,” Gonzalez said.

Water made problems, homemade solutions

Burford hollies line Kilpatrick’s edge of Misty Creek, but parts of the plants dangle from the ledge. Lisius tied two trees to stakes as their roots became exposed, but one had fallen into the creek by Monday. A 40-foot red oak named Scarlet, leans toward the water and bears a framed note on its trunk that reads, “Hug me, pray for me, help me.”

Across the creek, Mike Bernardo, who has lived along the creek since 1997, spent tens of thousands to lay down a concrete dam and wood walls to regulate the water flow and prevent further erosion. The water goes over the dam after a storm, Bernardo said.

“But it doesn’t take anything else out” from the soil, he added.

Residents have reached out to staff three times since 2016 for help with the creek issues, they said. However, staff have told them the city will not help because Misty Creek is private property. During one of his last attempts to receive help, Kilpatrick said, city employees provided him the deed stating creek maintenance was the responsibility of the owner and the homebuilder.

Kilpatrick said he gave up after an unsuccessful plea to the city in 2019, but Lisius renewed the efforts when they saw creek conditions worsen earlier in the year, after the cement ditch construction at Mansfield Road and Thames Drive. Additionally, neighbors with downstream retention ponds have noticed a buildup of silt that they said may come from Kilpatrick and Lisius’s area. Lisius said the city’s reliance on the deed was a defensive tactic, whereas the city should instead try to help.

“They need to serve their citizens,” Lisius said. “They are not there to defend themselves. They are there to get things done and do good things for their community.”

Cannon said the ditch near the intersection was built in response to erosion that jeopardized public utilities and roads and has not substantially changed the volume of water flowing into the creek.

The silt problems downstream, Cannon said, also fall on private property, which prevents the city from helping reduce the buildup.

Policy change needed to address creek

Estates Above Wimbledon residents have gotten the City Council’s attention. Gonzalez said the City Council will review their request and look at Misty Creek’s issues. Lisius and others are sounding off on the issue online and among neighbors.

The group brought their concerns to the City Council April 13. Lisius said he was thankful for the opportunity to speak, though he is unsure what the council can do to help.

Cannon said the city can intervene only if policies change, if the area is determined at risk of flooding or if the creek begins to affect public infrastructure. Until then, she said, her department can assist homeowners in developing their own mitigation plans.

“We work with the property owners who have those issues. If they want to come in and construct their own improvements, we will provide the engineering review,” Cannon said.

Neighbors are circulating a petition demanding both immediate help to mitigate erosion, as well as environmentally friendly development decisions moving forward. The change.org petition has garnered 283 signatures. They have also asked page followers to write to Mayor Jeff Williams through Facebook page Misty Creek Project.

“We’re just hoping that the city will recognize that it shouldn’t be our responsibility,” Kilpatrick said.