For the third consecutive summer, the fecal bacteria levels in the Little Falls watershed have exceeded the Maryland State Standards for recreational water use - even for infrequent human contact. According to the 15 week study of eight sites along two creeks in the watershed, both creeks at all locations fail to meet the criteria for safe water play.
Stream Scores Poor in Fall Monitoring
Thanks to everyone for an efficient and productive Fall Monitoring. With a plethora of volunteers - there were 9 of us - we recorded 106 macro's. Watching small minnow mayflies take flight might have been the highlight of the day or possibly finding one Narrow Winged Damsel Fly (thanks to Averill!).
Illegal Discharge in the Creek? If You See Something, Say Something!
August 8, 2023: Dead fish in the Little Falls Branch by Willard Avenue Park in Chevy Chase, MD.
Kudos to our trash volunteers who noticed dead fish and a weird smell in the Little Falls Branch at Willard Avenue Park in Chevy Chase during our August clean-up. They reported the problem to our trash host who passed it along to Steve Martin at the Montgomery County Department of Environment. Steve and his crew were able to track down at least some of the problem and a local pool was found to have discharged muriatic acid into the creek. The pool management company was issued a citation.
Thank you to our trash host Emily Simone for following up on this and to the MoCo DEP for their prompt and successful investigation.
how to report problems in the creek
This is not the first time that LFWA has reported a problem to the County with success. Illegal discharges are common in the creek and quite often the DEP is able to track the source and have the problem fixed. But they can’t do it without the help of residents. The key to a successful outcome is prompt reporting with lots of details, pictures and maps. There are two ways to report:
Call 311 - this non-emergency number will take your report and relay it to the right department. 311 is only available Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Call 911 for emergency service when 311 is closed.
Email Environmental Compliance Supervisor directly at Steve.Martin@montgomerycountymd.gov Be sure to include photos and a map along with the date of observation. Please copy us at info@LFWA.org if you do email. We will also follow up.
Examples of problems you might report include paint, construction silt, dead fish, funny smells, weird colored water, lots of foam from soap suds, and of course, plain old dumping,
Murky water on the Little Falls Branch coming from an outlet near Willard Avenue in Chevy Chase. Dead fish and an abnormally low pH were found below this outlet. Photo taken on August 8, 2023.
Hooded Warbler Visits Green Acres
It's a good season for sowbugs!
Summer time is sowbug time in the Little Falls Branch! These freshwater crustaceans (Asellus aqaticus) live under the rocks and eat little bits of debris floating in the water. As is common in the summer, almost 20% of macroinvetebrates found in our summer stream monitoring session were sowbugs. Other stars of the July 9 survey were planaria and minnow mayflies.
Fecal Bacteria Monitoring FAQ
To answers all the questions about our fecal bacteria monitoring program you never knew you had!
Robots in the Watershed
Fecal Bacteria Levels in the Watershed
Little Falls Watershed Alliance is excited to announce that in June, we are re-starting our bacteria monitoring program for the Little Falls and Willett Branches. Check our events page for kick-off meeting date and details.
Bacteria Monitoring Program ISO Volunteers
Little Falls Watershed Alliance is excited to announce that in June, we are re-starting our bacteria monitoring program for the Little Falls and Willett Branches. Check our events page for kick-off meeting date and details.
New Plants for Green Acres Habitat Project
LFWA celebrated earth day by adding more native plants to the Green Acres Habitat Restoration Project. Volunteers planted ostrich ferns, wood poppies, white turtleheads, columbines, spiderworts, foamflowers, and more to join an earlier planting of redbuds and pawpaws as part of the ongoing project to restore the paper road at the end of Little Falls Drive, Bethesda, MD.