Bacteria Monitoring
Sarah Morse
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.

norwood park project
Sarah Morse
Winter News from the Norwood Park Arboriculture ...

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.

Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Sarah Morse
Fall Macro Monitoring Finds Lots of Planeria

It’s always fun to spend an afternoon hunting for Macro-invertebrates in the Little Falls Branch. Even though, the steam remains in “poor” condition, the stream monitoring team is the best! The star of the fall monitoring was planaria. We found 28!

Fall Macro Monitoring Finds Lots of Planeria
norwood park project
Sarah Morse
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.

bacteria monitoring, Bacteria Monitoring
Sarah Morse
Watershed Creeks Fail to Meet Standards for ...

For the fourth 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.

bacteria

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MoCo DEP to Investigate Source of Human Fecal Bacteria in Willett Branch

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After so much bad news about the fecal bacteria levels in the Little Falls Watershed - especially the out of the ballpark numbers on the Willett Branch where it runs behind the Bethesda Pool -Little Falls Watershed Alliance is happy to share some good news.

Fecal Bacteria Monitoring Ends for Season

Thank you to our amazing volunteers for making this program possible and to Joe Barnes for coordinating the effort and publishing the data every week. The data from the final week was consistent with our findings through out the summer. Two sites on the Little Falls Branch pass, two failed and all three sites on the Willett Branch showed dangerously high levels. We are working with the WSSC to track the source of the fecal bacteria.

Start helping your watershed today!