Stormwater Partners Coalition For Immediate Release Contact: Diane Cameron 301-933-1210; 385-2156 July 21, 2006 Steve Dryden 301-656-0049

Montgomery County’s

TOP TEN POLLUTED

This alphabetical list is based on publicly-available Montgomery County and state of studies; reports by citizen stewardship groups, and visits to the streams. It also takes into account ongoing and planned development. Further details are available through the watershed contacts or websites on page two.

CABIN JOHN CREEK - Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) surveyors and volunteers reported “poor” and “fair” biological quality throughout their chosen stream sites in Cabin John for 2003. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) lists Cabin John as impaired for bacteria, nutrients, sediment, and biological quality. Cabin John also suffers from raw sewage leaks (including about 600,000 gallons released in the aftermath of the June 2006 storms). I-270 and I-495, plus shopping centers (Montgomery Mall) and Rockville suburbs contribute large runoff loads. (Watershed contact: Burr Gray, Friends of , 703- 607-2740, 301-320-2918)

LITTLE FALLS AND MINNEHAHA BRANCH - With its headwaters buried in downtown Bethesda, Little Falls is afflicted by huge volumes of runoff that has rendered the stream segment below Massachusetts Ave. into a lifeless, sandy wasteland. The county rates most of Little Falls as having fair to poor habitat. Minnehaha is a small stream west of Little Falls; it feeds directly into the Potomac. The Montgomery Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) stream condition map published in 1998 listed it as “fair.” (Contact: Steve Dryden, 301-656-0049)

LITTLE - More than half the stream network is rated poor or fair by the county. The volume and velocity of poorly-controlled from these built-upon surfaces in Montgomery County is a contributing factor in the massive streambank wastage at the College Park Jiffy Lube site along Route 1 in College Park (photos available). The planned Intercounty Connector (ICC) would further stress this waterway. (Contact: Robert Boone, president, Anacostia Watershed Society, 301-699-6204)

LITTLE SENECA CREEK - Construction in the nearby Clarksburg Town Center is causing serious sediment and erosion problems in the stream’s upper reaches. Little Seneca - still listed as healthy by DEP in a majority of its segments - is designated by the State of Maryland as being a coldwater trout and a drinking water supply stream. Steep declines in biological quality have been documented by DEP in Little Seneca , part of the “Little Seneca Special Protection Area.” (Contact: Bonnie Bell, Greater Goshen Civic Assn, (240) 631-1111 ext. 114: Diane Cameron, 301-933-1210)

MUDDY BRANCH – Development centered in the Gaithersburg area sent additional stormwater pollution into , resulting in a sharp decline from the mid-1990s to 2000. Declines in stream biological quality were documented by DEP’s monitoring, mostly in the upper reaches.

NORTHWEST BRANCH – P ortions affected by development cover most smaller, downstream streams in this network. Two-thirds of the tributaries classified as poor or fair by the county. One has streambed eroded to twelve feet below the surrounding land. The mainstem experienced extreme flooding during the late June 2006 storm, partly washing away portions of Route 29 at Burnt Mills. Threatened with further decline by the ICC. (Contacts: Bill Howard, President, Neighbors of Northwest Branch, (301) 625-7771; Carole Ann Barth, president, Northwood Four Corners Civic Assn. 301-593-7863; Torre Taylor, stream monitor, 301-641-4134)

ROCK CREEK (Lower watershed) Bordered by historically built-up area such as Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring, lower Rock Creek has been subject to large surges of runoff for decades. Many tributaries and springs are covered. All of the streams in this section are rated poor or fair by the county. A toxic spill caused a massive fish kill in 2002. (Contact: Steve Dryden, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment 301-656-0049)

ROCK RUN – This small creek, just south of Cabin John Creek and north of the , was degraded a century ago by placer mining of gold. In the present day, Rock Run’s three main subwatersheds are all listed as being of low (degraded) biological quality, including in the vicinity of the large Avenel golf course.

SLIGO CREEK -- Though the Wheaton Branch has been helped by a Montgomery County restoration project, almost the entire Sligo stream network is rated as having “poor” by DEP. It remains one of the “county’s most urbanized watersheds,” DEP notes, with many buried or channelized streams. DEP’s restoration efforts were set back when WSSC pipe flushing poisoned the creek with chlorinated water in January 2006, causing a massive fish, insect, and amphibian kill. (Contacts: Friends of : Bruce Sidwell 3 01-270-5846, Kathy Michels 301-649-5684; Ed Murtagh 301 649-7266)

WATTS BRANCH -- The headwaters are in Rockville and the I-270 corridor, including the massive King Farm project. Development over the past decade, in upper and middle Watts Branch including , has contributed to the stream’s decline. WSSC is now undertaking a $15 million mid-river intake pipe project expressly to escape Watts Branch’s additional stormwater pollution, now estimated by the water utility to cause an additional $800,000 annually in extra drinking water treatment. (Contacts: Ginny Barnes 301-762-6423; Jane Huff 301-949-7065)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: DEP Countywide Stream Protection Strategy (CSPS): http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/CSPS/home.asp DEP CSPS Update 11/03: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/Publications/pdf/CSPS2003.pdf MDE 2006 Impaired Waters List: http://www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/2006_303(d)%20List_Category_5_PNdraft_c omplete.pdf (scroll to page 196)