Teaching the Water Cycle
Protecting water resources is a shared priority in Loudoun County, Virginia, where a series of droughts and water shortages led to the creation of the Beaverdam Reservoir in the 1970s. Reservoir Park, a 70-acre public space set within a 600-acre protected water resource area, highlights the community’s relationship with water through a mix of recreational opportunities and educational design features. The park was created through an innovative partnership between Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks, blending public infrastructure with regional open space.
The park offers recreational amenities and interpretive programs focused on the water cycle and conservation, providing scenic destinations linked by trails that connect visitors to park areas and to diverse experiences and prospects along the way. The interpretive signage program cues visitors to observe the stages of the water cycle, including stormwater cascading off the pavilion’s butterfly roof and seeping through filtration gardens. Conservation themes are intermingled with the pleasures of hiking, boating, and picnicking–enabling people to feel the primacy of their relationship with water.
Park features include a Welcome Center, spacious picnic pavilions, a boat kiosk and launch, piers, and a crew facility for local teams. Functionally, the landscape provides enhanced access to both the reservoir and the broader NOVA Parks trail system. Just as significantly, park structures and features make water conservation and water processes visible. Bioretention basins, bioswales, and rainwater-collecting canopies are integrated into the landscape and architecture and interpretive elements throughout the park reveal ecological and hydrological narratives and Loudoun Water’s mission to protect the reservoir and provide clean drinking water.
