Diving Lake Thoreau in Reston, VA

[ejc83]

So we were floating around in our pontoon boat for the community 4th of July fireworks, and my girlfriend's Chanelle glasses take a dip in the drink. I could see them sinking so I just dove over after them.

I had my eyes closed, and didn't get a great breath. I managed to make contact with the glasses twice; once with each hand. I was unable to grab them even after diving a little deeper and groping around furiously. It was very frustrating.

There was an upside though, because I've been waiting for the opportunity to complete my scuba kit. The chance to recover the $300 prescription glasses was good justification for heading out to the LDS yesterday.

I currently own a Scubapro Classic Plus BCD with AIR2 inflator/backup. I intended on going with a Scubapro MK17/G250V, but the place that sells them was not open, so I decided to just go for what they had at the alternate store. I wound up with an Aqua Lung Titan LX ($50 instant rebate!), a Dive Rite low profile depth/air gague (love it), and a Suunto Gekko. I got another dive light and a retractable compass that seemed useful for what I was going to do with it. I also purchased an 80CU.FT. peened aluminum cylinder.

When the glasses were initially dropped, I noted the alignment of several shore objects. We did the best we could to get lined up in that spot, and set the anchor there. It took quite a few tries to get the thing to set. It's probably not the best anchor for a mud bottom lake. I estimate that we let out around 30ft of line before it hit bottom.

I anticitpated having around ten feet of visibility at depth. The LDS did not have any of the standard pistol style 4 "C" cell lights, so I had only my two backup lights to help keep the search effective.

I also planned to take a quick recon of the area immediately around the anchor and report to the surface what I thought of the chances of finding the glasses were.

I deflated my BCD and began a descent down the anchor line. Visibility was ok until I got to 10 ft. I slipped through a very sharp thermocline, and very drastic decrease in light and visibility.

As I dropped down to 12 feet, and passed well into the thermocline, I realized that the white anchor line disappeared about 3 feet in front of me into inky blackness. The dive light provided about a 5 foot beam of light, outside of which not much could be seen. It seemed like I would need a much more serious light to even be able to see anything, much less find a pair of glasses. I felt ill prepared for the mission at hand, and decided to say "forget it".

I wasn't anticipating a low viz night dive, which is essentially what this was shaping up to be. The sheer darkness of the water below was enough to tell me that this wasn't going to work. Dipping into it imposed a sense of despair and isolation that I've never really known before. It was eerie.

Anyhow, perhaps the visibility will improve some. During winter you can see clear to the bottom of the shallower portions of this lake.

I can't imagine that I'm the first person to dive this place. Anyone else interested?

 

[NoVaScuba]

There are at least 4 dive shops within 10 miles of there that can probably help with info on diving that lake or at least direct you to a source.

Is there anything interesting in the lake besides a $300 pair of glasses?

 

[ejc83]

I did mention this dive to the employee at the dive shop, but he didn't have much to say. Your suggestion to check with shops is sound though.

I fully expect to get a "why bother" or "that's dangerous" sort of reply, but being cynical won't preclude me from trying. I do live almost walking distance from the U.S. Geological Survey and I figure they might have some bathymetry on local bodies of water.

As far as interesting artifacts or things to see, I don't know. I'm new to the neighborhood and when introduced to the president of the HOA I told him about my desire to dive the lake. I joked about charging lakegoers for recovering lost items, and he said I would find "A LOT DOWN THERE". I already know there are some expensive glasses at the bottom!

Since this is now our community, I thought it might also be nice to try and clean up the lake a little. There's plenty of trash I can see that no one is likely to remove from 5 feet of water, which would be easy for me.

I was told by a neighbor that he has caught others dumping their yard waste into the lake with cinderblocks to weight it down. I don't know, maybe the bottom of the lake is just a disgusting scary mess, and I'll never want to be in it again. I have to find out though.

Anyone interested in buddying with me on the lake is welcome!

 

[NoVaScuba]

There are 2 things stopping me.

1. I don't have the equipment for that kind of diving yet and probably won't before it's too cold.

2. We'd really need someone either experienced with the lake or experienced in how to approach unknown areas.

Maybe one of the local clubs would be interested in doing a cleanup as a community service.

 

[ejc83]

I don't think there will be anyone familiar with diving this particular lake, but what one needs for this type of diving is confidence and experience. I'm working on both.

There is one good thing: this lake is man-made, and as such there was once a grading plan that should pretty accurately show the contours and storm water plan.

In the meantime, I have a UK D8 light now, so I can do a little more exploring. Visibility seems to be getting worse as the geese and ducks defile the water, and the water level drops in the absence of rainfall.

It was practically England for the longest time, now we're in some kind of drought. I can go muck around in the shallows and clean some of the garbage up.

My neighbor wants me to inspect the bottom of his raft, which is listing and sinking. The styrofoam has probably absorbed water. I'm hoping there could be some cash involved, or at least a beverage or two.

 

[billymac60]

Just my two cents, but if there was a good reason to dive in that Lake, people would be diving in that lake. Limited to zero viz would be the norm, lots of chemical run off from the surrounding area in the sediment, yuck. I'd rather head out to Millbrook or Dutch Springs.

 

[ejc83]

True, it can be gross, but people swim in it on a daily basis. The fact that is is literally my backyard makes it tough for me not to want to be in it.

I do want to go Millbrooking soon though!

 

[NoVaScuba]

I did my OW at Millbrook and I'm not anxious to return. It's probably OK to train and check out equipment but it has low viz and there's not a whole lot there.

If I'm going to rent a wet suit and tanks, I think I'd go to Dutch Springs or Rawlings. They're a little further but I've heard they're much nicer.