Stream Monitoring Teams

LFWA has a robust monitoring program.

Winter: Salt Testing

Winter road salt runs off into the creek when the snow melts, causing toxic levels of saline. Our program provides baseline data as well as after-storm testing. Learn about our program HERE.

Summer: Fecal Bacteria Testing

Fecal bacteria is an invisible pollutant causing health problems. If the levels are too high, the water is not safe for play according to Maryland State Standards. we test eight locations on the Willett and Little Falls Branches every week in the summer, to inform the public about the safety of the water. Learn about our program HERE.

Quarterly: Benthic macroinvertebrate survey.

LFWA volunteers monitor the biological health of Little Falls Branch by sampling for creek critters (benthic macro-invertebrates) every quarter. We look for diversity and number of organisms to give us a index (BIBI) for the creek. The index runs from 0 to 5, the higher the number, the healthier the creek. All organisms are ID on-site and then released back into the creek. See our results HERE.

Our program operates in partnership with Nature Forward (nee Audubon Naturalist Society) and we follow their protocol. The LFWA team is led by a designated leader who is certified in identification. In addition, many of our other team members have been trained by NF to identify the macro-invertebrates living in the creek.

The NF Water Quality Monitoring Program is one of the largest and longest-running community science programs in the country. Since the early 1990s, the program has operated throughout Montgomery County, Maryland, and in parts of the District of Columbia. They provide our data to government agencies and to others upon request. LFWA is happy to have been participating in the program since 2016.

join our monitoring teams

Contact us at stormwater@LFWA.org if you are interested in joining one of our teams. All participants are required to attend training sessions. The Benthic Macroinvertebrate Team is trained by Nature Forward. LFWA will pay the training fees for anyone who commits to monitoring our creek.  Information about the NF program is HERE.