Stormwater Partners Network

What a difference a year makes when the County, watershed groups and the communities work together to protect our natural areas. A year ago Matthew Henson Park and Turkey Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek, were trashed. The County had spent millions of dollars in restoring Turkey Branch (see write up), but the stream and park was full of tires, car batteries, construction debris and litter (link to Spring 2009 Update) . Last spring we pulled tons of trash from the park and stream. Follow up clean ups were organized in the fall and during Volunteer Day on January 20th.

Community organizers, supported by Friends of Rock Creek Environment (FORCE) and the Parks Volunteer Office (Lynn Vismara!) have started turning the Park around. Challenges remain, but steady progress is being made.

Tania Gerich (community organizer), Eric Durland (FORCE). and Lynn Vismara (Parks Volunteer Coordinator)

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The County Executive has made a proposal to the Council to reduce the 2010 budget for key water quality programs including tree planting, tree maintenance, and the Keep Montgomery Beautiful program, which runs programs including storm drain marking in the County (see page 12 of the pdf).   Also slated for cuts are important Anacostia watershed U.S. Geological Survey stream gaging projects.

It is essential that the Council follow the recommendations of the Anacostia Watershed Forest Management and Protection Strategy which was created to guide decision makers so that Anacostia streams may one day be restored.  One of the specific goals in the strategy is to increase the number and long term viability of street trees in the Anacostia watershed.   The Council should be fully funding the programs that will help to meet this goal.  Street trees need to be increased in all the County’s urban watersheds, not only for the Anacostia streams, but in Rock Creek and other Montgomery County watersheds as well. Why bother creating these strategies and plans if the recommendations in them are going to be ignored?   

Everyone has seen it - the rivers of mud flowing from construction sites
after a storm. Now you can learn what you can do about it!

Join Little Falls Watershed Alliance and the Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment (FORCE) for a “Get the Dirt Out!” training with Potomac Riverkeeper.

November 2, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church, 1 Chevy Chase Circle, Washington, DC 20015

FREE! Please register at the Potomac Riverkeeper website.

Dirt is one of the leading causes of pollution in area creeks, harming
fish and other aquatic life both in the creek and downstream. There is
something that you and your neighbors can do! In this training session
residents will learn how to identify and report violations of rules
designed to protect our streams from construction site pollution.

If you’re interested, please come to the training and find out more. If
you can’t come, please pass forward this email to someone who lives near you that might be interested.

Sarah Morse
Little Falls Watershed Alliance, Co-President
Visit us online at www.LFWA.org

Parks is hosting a big grand opening of the Matthew Henson Park on May 9 from 1 to 4 pm.  (see attached PDF) This is a Parks event, but DEP will also be there helping lead tours of the restoration sites and discussing what their plans to implement LID practices throughout the Turkey Branch subwatershed.    There will be both self guided and guided trail walks to talk about the various stream restoration practices.  The guided tours are scheduled to start tentatively from 1 to 2 and from 3 to 4 pm.

Don Dorsey, Ann English, Dan Harper and Doug Marshall from DEP are expected to be at this event.  The designer of the restoration project is also expected to be there.   DEP is planning LID projects throughout the Turkey Branch Watershed as part of this restoration effort (Aspen Hill Library Rain Garden Project and the RainScapes Targeted areas in Turkey Branch).  This is something we have strongly supported.  The Turkey Branch Watershed Restoration is the County’s biggest effort to date on watershed restoration which is required in the Stormwater Permit.  I think it would be very useful for stormwater partners to come to the site and see first hand what watershed restoration means and what the challenges are.    

What is really needed now is helping get the communities organized for stewardship of this watershed and stream.  Is there any interest in setting up a table near where the guided trail starts where residents could sign up or get more information about organizing their communities? If so, you could use our listserv at stormwaters@googlegroups.com as one way to help you organize the table.

The County has been working on a big expensive watershed restoration project in Turkey Branch (a tributary of Rock Creek). Extensive stream restoration work has been completed including the installation of stormwater ponds.  The County is getting ready to focus on getting homeowners in Wheaton Woods (a community along Turkey Branch) to install LID practices.  However, the park (Matthew Henson State Park) and Turkey Branch are trashed.  If this restoration effort is going to be successful, there is a need for increased community stewardship in the watershed and in the park/branch.  On April 4 (Potomac Clean Up Day) from 9 am to noon, I will be helping a Wheaton Woods resident to organize a cleanup of Turkey Branch between Viers Mill Road and Connecticut Avenue.  If you are not committed to clean up in your community that day, please consider helping us clean up this stream.  We could use the help in kicking off this effort.

See http://www.riverexplorer.com/rock_creek/details.php4?id=24 for location.

The park is currently a dumping site for auto parts and other trash.

A ladder and car battery in the park.

Trash is all over the park and in Turkey Branch.