Grandma's Creek Watershed Improvements

• 2024-2025: Grant Awarded, Project Design Finalized
• Spring 2026: Gully Repair Construction Completed
• Late Summer 2026: Green Streets Construction Start

Two Green Street rain gardens in the Grandma's Creek watershed are under construction:

• One will be located on Pershing Drive near 1st Road South.
• The other will be located at Pershing Drive and 4th Street South.
• In addition, a new storm drain and pipe will be added to the end of 6th St S. 

The rain gardens will act as a natural filter and sponge, capturing and absorbing stormwater runoff and providing habitat benefits with native plants, further helping protect Grandma's Creek. Construction on the rain gardens began late summer 2026 and is expected to last 3-6 months, including:

• Site preparations and setup
• Excavation for the rain gardens
• Adding new concrete curbs that extend down to the base of the rain garden, as well as curb cuts to allow rainwater to enter
• Installing the special biochar high-filtration soil mix
• Native planting this fall, which will include Winterberry, Red-twig dogwood, Amsonia/Bluestar, Native hibiscus, Blue flag iris, Wild petunia and more.

The Grandma's Creek Gully Repair was completed in spring 2026. The repair stabilized the eroding channel with stone step pool structures, removed invasive bamboo, filters stormwater runoff with a sand/mulch soil mixture and replanted densely with local ecotype native plants. 

If you have questions, please contact Lily Whitesell at LWhitesell@arlingtonva.us or Anne Guillette at AGuillette@arlingtonva.us

Project Background

Grandma's Creek Watershed Improvements is a community-initiated project that aims to help protect Grandma’s Creek, a small stream in the Barcroft community that enters Four Mile Run at the W&OD trail. The project includes: 

• Green Street rain gardens to capture, filter and absorb stormwater runoff, 
• Gully repair that reduces erosion, captures runoff and safely conveys stormwater,
• Watershed educational activities for school students, families and the community, 
• Tree planting with the neighborhood, Tree Stewards and EcoAction Arlington, 
• Partnership with Barcroft Elementary School and outreach to historically underserved populations who live in the Barcroft and Columbia Pike area.

Grandma’s Creek got its name from hot summer days in the early 1900s, when the local Marye children and their grandmother would walk up the railroad tracks for picnics in the cool woods next to the stream. A century later Barcroft residents continue to call it Grandma's Creek.

Meeting Materials