Description of the Little Falls Watershed

The Little Falls Watershed is located in the southwest corner of Montgomery County in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Maryland and in a portion of the northwest section of the District of Columbia. The waterways of the watershed consist of the Willet, Little Falls and Minnehaha Branches (sometimes referred to below as creeks), several smaller tributaries and an extensive system of urban and suburban storm sewers that feed into them. The Willet Branch flows into the Little Falls Branch which continues to the Potomac River. The Minnehaha Branch flows into the Potomac to the north of the Little Falls Branch. For a more detailed description of the Little Falls Watershed, visit the Montgomery County site.

Within the watershed are the commercial districts of the Bethesda Central Business District, Friendship Heights, Westwood Centers I and II and stores along River Road near the Kenwood neighborhood. Two country clubs, Kenwood and Chevy Chase, are located in the watershed with the latter containing one of the headwaters that flows into the Little Falls Branch. In the Montgomery Count portion of the watershed is the Little Falls Stream Valley, a park under the jurisdiction of the Maryland-National Capital Park and the Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). With the exception of some other much smaller parks and schools, the remainder of the watershed consists of residential housing, including high-rise and low-rise buildings and single family homes. Development began in earnest in the late 1940's. Consequently, the trees and shrubbery in these neighborhoods are typically old and dense.

The property within the watershed has become ever more valuable due to good schools, the proximity to shopping and entertainment facilities and the presence of subway stations along the red line of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's railway system. In an effort to encourage the use of mass transit, Montgomery County has designated much of the watershed for high-density development. New construction of high-rise commercial and residential buildings has grown apace. Many older, single-family homes have been supplanted by larger houses.