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.
Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Sarah Morse
Our summer macroinvertebrate survey of the Little Falls Creek discovered only 8 species which gives the creek a poor rating for its biological health. The Summer macroinvertebrate count is part of our water quality monitoring program. We survey the creek 4 times a year to learn about its biological health.
Salt Testing
Sarah Morse
The winter road salt testing seasoned ended April 23 with one final testing for chloride in the local creeks. Results from the season (seen in Figure 1) indicate that the creeks in the Little Falls watershed are experiencing high levels of salt despite the lack of winter storms.
Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Sarah Morse
Our stream monitoring team was thrilled to find a two-lined salamander at their spring monitoring session, April 21! This little salamander lays her eggs in the creek on the rocks and pebbles. While they are native to the area, we don’t see many in the creek because their habitat is frequently buried in the silt caused by eroding banks.