Stormwater Management for Little Falls Parkway

UPDATE, July 2020: The project is complete!

Project Complete! The concrete has been removed and replaced with a vegetated infiltration swale planted with native grasses and wildflowers.

Before: The concrete storm ditch collected water from uphill properties and directed it to the Willett Branch, causing flooding and erosion of downstream creeks.

April, 2020: The concrete ditch along Little Falls Parkway at Dorset Avenue is getting a stormwater management upgrade. The concrete is being removed and replaced with a vegetated swale. This will allow the stormwater run-off to soak into the ground instead of filling the channel and flowing directly to the Willett and Little Falls creeks. The swale will be planted with native wild flowers and grasses which will bring much needed native plants to the area.

The project is being undertaken by Montgomery Parks. The start date was April 2020 and completion is expected by June 2020. Please contact Erin McArdle, PE with any questions regarding the project. Erin.McArdle@MontgomeryParks.org

View fullsize

LFWA & Corona Virus Pandemic: a Personal Message from Our President

When I joined the board of Little Falls Watershed Alliance (LFWA) and later became president, I never envisioned writing a letter like this on a subject like this. I envisioned communicating about the organization’s many great accomplishments, its dynamic leadership, its tremendous volunteers, its myriad activities and our improving environment. I’ve enjoyed and am certain I will continue to enjoy opportunities to broadcast such things. Needless to say, the Coronavirus pandemic has, at least temporarily, disrupted our lives, plans and short-term aspirations.

Among LFWA’s greatest strengths is its vibrant volunteer base and the plethora of effective volunteer activities. Unfortunately, at our last board meeting, we made the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all sponsored volunteer activities for the foreseeable future, until they’re safe to resume. We hope and pray that our community can move past this and that we can resume our volunteer programs as quickly as possible. We want you to know that even during this pause, we continue to work hard on behalf of our watershed. We recently collaborated with our Maryland legislative representatives and provided testimony to help secure funding for the future Willett’s Branch Park and are currently preparing for virtual meetings on the proposed Westbard II site plan and senior center, among other things.

I encourage you all to continue to safely enjoy our watershed, including the Little Falls Stream Valley Park and Capital Crescent Trail. Nature can provide great comfort and solace in these trying times. I was out walking along the Little Falls Branch with my family on Sunday and signs of spring were everywhere. The loud whoosh of a huge Great Blue Heron taking off from the stream just above Massachusetts Ave. startled us. We also noticed several pairs and families of mallard ducks lazily swimming and feeding on the water. Finally, we observed fish, small and large, returning to the stream, as they do every spring. Our parks, always heavily used, are even more so now. Please be careful about social distancing, wear masks when advisable and do everything you can to stay safe. And, as always, if you venture out, feel free to bring a bag and pick up any trash you see to keep our environment clean.

On behalf of the entire LFWA Board, we wish you the best during this difficult time. Stay well!

Jack Sobel
LFWA President

LFWA to Track Impact of Road Salt on Creek

Too much on the road by Amerian University in Washington DC. The white stripes are salt that is four or five inches deep in some places.

All over the snowy regions, scientists are finding that road salt runoff poses an increasing threat to aquatic ecosystems. Although, the salt keeps the roads safer by lowering the melting temperature, there is an environmental cost.  When it rains, the salt washes into creeks and rivers and raises the salinity of the water.  Fish and other stream life cannot live in the salty water.

The Izaak Walton League has a program for citizen scientists to track the impact of road salts on local streams.  We would love to have a tester in the watershed.  Please contact Little Falls Watershed Alliance at stormwater@LFWA.org if you are interested.

The Izaak Walton League of America will send you free chloride test strips to take to your stream: one for a baseline reading, one for a reading after salt has been applied, and a couple more for readings after warm weather or storm runoff has washed the salt into the stream. You then upload your results through the Water Reporter app to a map. More information is HERE.

HERE'S an article from the Washington Post that does a good job of describing the issues.

For a lot of good information on what northern states are doing to minimize the effect of road salt, visit the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services HERE.  

And here's some information about how Minnesota DOT is cutting back on salt use.  

Who is the Izaac Walton League?

From their website (http://www.iwla.org)

The Izaak Walton League was founded in 1922 to conserve outdoor America for future generations. The League's 54 founders, who were avid anglers, named the organization after Izaak Walton, the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler, a classic book about the art and spirit of fishing. We are one of the earliest conservation organizations to set an aggressive course to defend wild America by changing public policy. Almost every major, successful conservation program that America has in place today can be traced directly to a League activity or initiative.

There are over 240 chapters in local communities nationwide include three in the Montgomery County, MD area.