Watershed creeks are showing very high levels of chloride this month. After each winter storm, LFWA salt testing team has recorded chronic or acute levels of toxicity to aquatic life in four of our creeks.
Source of "murky" water found
Little Falls Branch where it comes from under Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. Residents have been documenting and reporting the murky water since mid-December.
The Little Falls Branch has been murky for the past 3 weeks and the source is found - sediment coming from construction at the Chevy Chase Club golf course. The site was inspected this week and while, the clubs has a sediment control permit, “multiple failures of the system” were discovered. A citation has been issued and the contractor is required to fix the system.
sediment pollution
Dirt flowing off construction sites is a major sources of sediment pollution for our creeks and for the Chesapeake Bay. The sediment buries the habitat of the organisms who live on the bottom of creek beds; it makes the water cloudy so light cannot get through for the vegetation growing in the water; it can coat animals living in the creek and clog fish gills; it impedes the natural flow of the water; and much more. While there is some sediment from natural erosion, the EPA estimates that 70 percent of the sediment is from man-made causes.
report sediment pollution when you see it.
You can report sediment pollution by calling 311. Sediment control is required on all construction sites in the area. Any project the disturbs the earth - a new house, an addition, a new park, a building - must have a sediment control plan and a permit. If you see mud in the creek or running off a construction site, you are seeing sediment pollution and a failure of the sediment control system. By reporting the site, you are helping to keep our creeks, the Potomac River and the Bay clean.
More on Sediment control in Montgomery County is HERE.
Thank you to the folks at DEP who investigate the 311 reports and more times than not find the pollution source!
No snow yet, but salt levels are high in creeks
LFWA citizen scientists are busy at work again, this time testing for salt pollution in our creeks. The baseline tests taken in mid-December showed high levels of salt - almost to the chronic level. This is alarming as the freshwater organisms who live in the creek, cannot survive when the salinity of the water gets too high.
Fecal Bacteria Polluter Found; Problem Fixed!
In 2022, our fecal bacteria monitoring program uncovered a serious E. coli pollution problem in the Willett Branch. Our tests found fecal counts more than 50 times higher than the Maryland recommended levels for safe water play. We are excited to announce that the source of this pollution has finally been uncovered.
Winter News from the Norwood Park Arboriculture Project
The latest issue of the Norwood Park Arboriculture Project newsletter is HERE - filled with compelling news and ideas. Please take a few moments to see what's new with the trees around the Park, and how you can help the ecology in your yards, pots and community spaces.
Fall Macro Monitoring Finds Lots of Planeria
22 Species spotted on Sunday bird walk.
Another fun bird walk last Sunday. It’s the fall migration, so it was a chance to spot some birds that are just passing through on their way south. America Robins were feasting on the Hawthorns - too many to count! Thank you so much to Adele O’Dowd for arranging these and to Pete Givan for leading the group.
Watershed Creeks Fail to Meet Standards for Safe Play
News from the Norwood Park Arboriculture Project
The latest issue of the Norwood Park Arboriculture Project newsletter is filled with compelling news and ideas. Please take a few moments to see what's new with the trees around the Park, and how you can help the ecology in your yards, pots and community spaces:Learn about their events for the fall, the bioblitz conducted last spring and the interns who conducted the research, facts about local flora and fauna and more.
Stormwater Management Plan Developed for St. Dunstan’s Church
Located on a hilly property, with lots of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces, St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Bethesda has a serious stormwater run-off problem. Thanks to a $29,000 grant from Clean Water Montgomery, they now have a plan to deal with the excess water using green techniques. Eight spots were identified that would benefit from conservation landscaping, rain gardens, cisterns, and other green techniques that would allow the water to soak in the ground, instead of running off the property causing erosion to the campus and flooding in the local creek. The church is very excited to get started on executing the plan.
Community Outreach
The grant also allowed for three community outreach projects to educate the Church members and neighbors on the importance of capturing storm water on site so it can soak into the ground instead of letting it run off into the street where it goes directly to the local creek.
Little Falls Watershed Alliance gave a well attended presentation on the joys of stormwater management and what the church and homeowners can do on their property to contain the rain water. They discussed the pros and cons of different green techniques including rain gardens, conservation landscaping, permeable pavers, dry wells, french drains, and cisterns. Information about the Montgomery County Rainscapes program was distributed.
The second community event was a native plant sale. The Church environment committee ordered 500 native plants and opened the sale to the public as well as Church members. Despite the rainy day, the plants sold out in 30 minutes! LFWA had information on conservation landscaping and the RainScape Program.
For the last outreach project, we went to the creek to see the effect of too much stormwater on the habitat. Campers from the Church camp and volunteers did an assessment of the benthic macroinvertebrates who depend on the creek for their lives. After finding that the creek was in poor health, we had a discussion on how too much water after it rains was destroying the creek and how we could mitigate the problem by keeping the storm water out of the streets after it rains.
Thank you
The grant is funded by the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund and administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
