Lake Manassas Stays Shut, City Council Votes Against Public Access

A glimmer of hope for those who dream of fishing and boating on Lake Manassas was snuffed out at the Manassas City Council meeting on Nov. 24.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12 Council member Marc T. Aveni motioned to grant a $44,900 study to assess potential risks to Prince William County’s water supply should Lake Manassas be open to the public. At the council meeting on Monday, Nov. 24 the motion was defeated 4 to 2, according to The Washington Post.

Lake Manassas has been closed for swimming and fishing since the 1990s and for boating since 2004. Only those who own private property on the water can access the lake.

Some council members disapproved of the decision, saying the council’s criticism that taxpayers would have to pay to open a lake used primarily by non-residents was misinformed. The $44,900 needed to fund the study, council member Ian Lovejoy told The Washington Post, is about half of what the city currently pays each year to keep the lake secure.

“What I find shocking is that over the last five years, we’ve spent a quarter of a million dollars keeping the lake shut,” Lovejoy said to The Post.

Other council members disagreed, however, and said the major reason for the study’s rejection was keeping Prince William County’s water supply safe.

Read the full story at The Washington Post.

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