Reston Association is urging residents to avoid using water from Lake Thoreau for irrigation until mid-October.

The guidance comes after Aquatic Environment Consultants treated Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic species, on the water. Conducted monthly and typically around the middle of the month, treatments will continue throughout the summer to maintain low levels of herbicide in the water.

The company was contracted to treat Hydrilla when it became a “nuisance” two years ago, according to Ben Rhoades, RA’s watershed manager.

“There are no use restriction associated with the herbicide, Fluridone, other than irrigation,” Rhoades wrote in a statement to FFXnow.

In 2020, RA encouraged residents to avoid contact with the lake after a major algae bloom took over the surface of the lake. The incident piqued conversations about RA’s maintenance of its lakes and the most appropriate timing of lake treatment to avoid similar issues in the future.

The bloom was later ruled non-toxic.

Two Reston pool projects are facing some delays.

The Ridge Heights Pool will open two weeks later than anticipated.

In a statement released Friday (April 29), Reston Association said the delay was prompted by “continuing supply chain delays and manufacturing shortages that have slowed repairs to the facility.”

Repairs include re-plastering of the previous pool surface layers, tile line and in-pool tile replacement, and coping stone replacement on the main and wading pools.

The pool will now open on May 28 instead of May 14. Lake Audubon Pool will open on May 14, along with the heated pool at North Shore.

RA noted that the scheduled opening is “pending supply and contractor availability and weather conditions.”

Raw materials like aggregate and binders are in high demand and short supply, according to Chris Schumaker, RA’s capital projects director. RA has been waiting several months for coping stones.

“RA is doing everything within its control to complete the Ridge Heights pool for a May 28 opening,” RA’s spokesperson Mike Leone told FFXnow.

RA has also delayed the groundbreaking of Lake Thoreau pool’s renovation to May. The $3.5 million project had an anticipated groundbreaking of October or November.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a more specific date. We are focused on a 2023 Memorial Day Weekend opening but it will be tight,” Leone said.

The opening timeframe could be pushed back if permitting delays continue. RA is currently working through the remaining county permits required for the project to proceed.

Key design elements of the renovation include ADA access with a ramp into the pool, a redesign of the overlook deck, pool reconstruction, expansion of the parking lot, and repositioning of the spa away from the bathhouses as well as modifying and expansion of said bathhouses.

Two heads with a complex web of activity spilling about them will float on the Lake Thoreau spillway in Reston sometime this year.

Students from South Lakes High School’s STEAM team have prepared designs for their yearly project under the supervision of SLHS art teacher and sponsor Marco Rando.

This year, two heads — representing the right and left sides of the brain — will be strung together using several reflective cords. The sculpture would be tied down with aircraft cable, as has typically been done with previous installations.

The 9-foot-tall sculpture aims to reflect the brain’s role as a “superintelligent force” that powers the body and displays the brain’s synergetic functions, challenging the idea of individuals simply being left-brained or right-brained.

“Our sculpture will be recognizing the beauty and the complexity of the human brain,” said Sophia Pick, a SLHS student.

Evening lights will be hidden inside platform boxes. The two contrasting faces of the sides of the brain will be connected with wooden beams and a web of neurons made out of paracord — a design that aims to reflect the interconnectivity of the brain.

The sculpture takes inspiration from the Moire effect, a method using dots or lines that creates illusions. The effect would be incorporated into the wire mesh of the sculpture.

Students from the club presented the project to Reston Association’s Design Review Board on April 19.

The board unanimously approved the application after seeking clarification on how the project would be anchored for stability.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing this out there,” said member James Lozoskie.

Rando noted that the club got off to a “slow start” due to the transition from virtual to in-person learning, but have made good progress so far. Students have been working on the project since the beginning of the school year.

He did not immediately indicate the cost of the project and the expected date of installation.

This year, several community sponsors — including Red’s Table, Public Art Reston, and Mary and David Prochnow — helped raised funds for the project.

Students hope to display detailed artwork on panels essentially made of an aluminum composite — a feature they said was possible because significant funds were raised for the project.

The team has been designing temporary public art sculptures for the spillway for several years, including “Pyramid of Light” (2014), “Nothing Twice” (2015) and “Simon” (2016).

Bird houses are set to breathe more life into Lake Thoreau pool as the aging facility undergoes major renovations.

Reston Association and Public Art Reston are asking Restonians to submit proposals for bird houses through a grassroots beautification project.

Plans call for five birdhouses to remain as part of a permanent public art installation that RA says will “add visual distinction to the site and attract our feathered friends to nest above an L-shaped pollinator garden adjacent to the pool parking lot.”

Reston has no other birdhouse public art installation, according to Larry Butler, RA’s acting CEO.

“As lakes and lakeside environments are teeming with insects, it is a good location for birds to raise a family. The pathway and pool users alike will be able to enjoy the installation year-round,” Butler wrote in a statement to FFXnow.

The call for proposals is open to Reston residents only. Group submissions will be accepted and up to $250 for each house will be covered by the organizations.

Public Art Reston, which is facilitating the project, will help RA select the five artisan-designed birdhouses for the project.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with RA on this project and particularly the opportunity to elevate Reston creatives by soliciting homegrown public art to enhance and add visual distinction to a local amenity that is also bird-friendly,” said Phoebe Avery, Public Art Reston’s public art manager.

Design proposals are due by May 26, with installation expected by March 2o23. The pool is expected to open that summer. Application requirements and procedures are available online.

The renovated pool — a roughly $3.5 million undertaking — is slated to open for the 2023 pool season.