Youth Education

Virginia Conservation Assistance Program

The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) is a program that helps HOAs, individual homeowners, schools, places of worship, and other communities with urban soil erosion and water runoff.​

Application Process

Resources

​Conservation Landscaping

• Conservation Landscaping & Rain Gardens - VCE advice

• Conservation Landscaping - Rainscaping Manual

• The 8 essential elements for conservation landscaping

• *NEW!* VCAP Planting Resources
   

Rain Gardens

• Rain Garden Design and Construction from Fairfax

• Conservation Landscaping & Rain Gardens - VCE advice

• Plant Recommendations for Rain Gardens from Fairfax

• Plants For Shady Rain Gardens from ASWP

• Plants For Sunny Rain Gardens from ASWP

• Rain Gardens Shrubs Trees from ASWP

• Rain Garden Design from Iowa

• Rain Garden Manual for Homeowners from the Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District

• Size Worksheet for Rain Gardens

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*Contractors

• Contractors List from Fairfax

• Contractors List from StormwaterWise

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Other

• VCAP website

• VCAP Manual

• VCAP Reimbursement Rate Sheet for PY2021

• Prince William County Mapper

• Web Soil Survey

• StreamStats (Watershed Delineation)
  For assistance on how to use StreamStats, please contact Mike Miller at 571-379-7514, conservation@pwswcd.org

• Acknowledgement/Agreement Form

• NRCS Virginia Plant Establishment Guide

• PercTest - RiverSmart Homes PercTest Worksheet
  (use for Infiltration Test)

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*the District cannot recommend specific contractors. If you are a licensed contractor in Northern Virginia and would like to be added or removed from the list(s), please contact us at 571-379-7514, conservation@pwswcd.org

Every Soil and Water Conservation District manages the VCAP program differently. Due to the popularity of the program, our limited staff, and other commitments for the county and state, we can only review a few practices a year.

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Applications for VCAP is now open for Prince William County residents! We will be accepting applications until the end of April 30, 2021. After this date, we will not accept any new applications until our next application period (which will start on January 4, 2022). You will be contacted on whether or not your application has been accepted around June-July 2021.

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How to apply:

1. Determine if you have an erosion or water quality problem on your property

2. Look at the options available at https://vaswcd.org/vcap

3. Fill out and submit this form: Site Visit Request Form. The more details you can provide, the better.
   Photos are a requirement with your application; please make sure to attach photos along with your Site Visit Request Form. Copying and attaching photos in a .doc or .pdf is acceptable. Submitting a video of your erosion concerns when it's raining is optional, but very helpful as well.

4. Forms can be e-mailed to conservation@pwswcd.org. You can also snail mail them to Mike Miller, Attn: VCAP, 8850 Rixlew Lane, Manassas, VA 20109.
   
   Please note that we will only be able to choose a couple of applications for site visits and won't be able to see everyone who submits a form. We are thrilled to see so much interest in the VCAP program, but due to limited staff, time, and other obligations for the state and county, we cannot do site visits for everyone.

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When submitting an application, here are some things we look for:

• A significant water quality/erosion problem that needs to be solved

• Properties that are adjacent to a waterbody/waterway

• Visibility to the public (can someone casually driving by see it?)

If you are unsure about your project, remember that it never hurts to apply!

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If you have any questions, please contact Mike Miller at 571-379-7514, conservation@pwswcd.org.

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Important Note:

If you start/finish a VCAP practice before your application is approved, you may not be eligible for VCAP for that particular practice.

Forms

You do not need to fill out any of the forms below until after we meet with you.

For the most updated forms, click here.

Do not worry about contract numbers; we'll provide that information.

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• Form 1: Application

• Form 2: Job Sheet  We can give you your Hydrologic Unit Code and GPS Coordinates

• Form 3: Landowner Agreement

• Form 4: Transfer of Responsibility

• Form 5: Liability Release (This form is for anyone who is forgoing the use of a Professional Engineer (PE) only for practices that require one. For more complex practices that require a PE stamp, Form 5 will not be applicable. For questions, please contact Mike Miller at 571-379-7514, conservation@pwswcd.org)

• Form 7: Cost-Share Adjustment Request