Fairfax County likely will award an engineering firm a nearly $400,000 contract to strengthen its flood preparedness, the latest policy move to emerge from last summer’s devastating flooding.

The county has already approved a pilot flood insurance program and is exploring other long-term solutions for neighborhoods in Huntington, which putrid floodwaters overtook after Cameron Run swelled from its banks during last year’s storms. Now, HDR Engineering is on track to win a contract to design a new flood response and monitoring system for Huntington and Belle View, as well as a handful of lakes.

HDR would equip nine areas of the county that could undergo major flooding with gauges and sensors and design a data monitoring and collection system that would notify county staff when floods are developing. The open-ended system would allow future expansions, according to information provided by the county.

“This is an additional measure we’re taking to try to protect our citizens, especially in the Huntington area,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly said at a meeting Monday.

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Flood protection has been a high–profile issue for nearly a year in Fairfax County, with scores of homeowners on Huntington’s Arlington Terrace and Fenwick Drive still reeling from the flooding of late June. The flooding damaged about 150 homes and millions of dollars worth of property in the area.

wflook@dcexaminer.com