Little Seneca Creek
Encyclopedia
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, roughly 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
drains portions of Clarksburg
Clarksburg, Maryland
Clarksburg is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Northern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located along the Interstate 270 technology corridor about 4 miles north of Germantown, MD. As of Census 2010 its population is 13,766....
, Germantown, and Boyds
Boyds, Maryland
Boyds, Maryland is an unincorporated community in rural Montgomery County, Maryland, located north of Washington, DC. Its ZIP Code is 20841.According to the United States 2000 Census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the town of Boyds covers an area of and has a population of 2,025...
. It rises south of Damascus
Damascus, Maryland
Damascus is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States.In the early part of the 20th century, there was an incorporated municipality there for about a quarter century, but it no longer exists...
and flows southward about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to Little Seneca Lake
Little Seneca Lake
Little Seneca Lake is a reservoir located near the Boyds community in Montgomery County, Maryland. The lake was created by the construction of a dam on Little Seneca Creek. It was built to provide an emergency water supply for the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and it also provides a...
, a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
created by construction of a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the creek. The reservoir empties to the lower portion of the creek, which flows south about 6.6 miles (10.6 km) to Seneca Creek
Seneca Creek (Potomac River)
Seneca Creek is a stream in Montgomery County, Maryland, roughly northwest of Washington, D.C. It drains to the Potomac River.-Course:The creek begins with two main tributaries:...
, which drains to the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
and the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
.
A portion of the creek below the lake is a cold water stream that supports natural rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
populations.
Water quality issues
In 1994, the Montgomery County Council anticipated population growth in the Little Seneca watershedDrainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
and imposed some restrictions on housing development and other new construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
in part of the watershed, in order to preserve water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
before development accelerated. A "Special Protection Area" was designated that requires additional controls for stormwater
Stormwater
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
runoff
Surface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
, beyond those required of all new projects.
However, the county reported that its recent requirements for new construction projects have not been sufficient to prevent water quality impairment. Several large land development projects were constructed in Clarksburg and elsewhere in the watershed over the past several years. The county conducted biological monitoring
Bioindicator
Biological indicators are species used to monitor the health of an environment or ecosystem. They are any biological species or group of species whose function, population, or status can be used to determine ecosystem or environmental integrity. An example of such a group are the copepods and other...
of stream conditions and has documented declines in water quality associated with the new construction. More comprehensive site designs to minimize stormwater runoff, such as conservation design or low impact development
Low impact development
Low-impact development is a term used in the United States to describe a land planning and engineering design approach to managing stormwater runoff. LID emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality...
designs, are recommended.
Tributaries
- Boyds Tributary
- Brodsky Tributary
- Bucklodge Branch
- Cabin Branch
- Churchill Tributary
- Germantown Estates Tributary
- Milestone Tributary
- Ten Mile Creek
- Town Center Tributary
See also
- List of Maryland rivers
- Little Seneca LakeLittle Seneca LakeLittle Seneca Lake is a reservoir located near the Boyds community in Montgomery County, Maryland. The lake was created by the construction of a dam on Little Seneca Creek. It was built to provide an emergency water supply for the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and it also provides a...
- Seneca CreekSeneca Creek (Potomac River)Seneca Creek is a stream in Montgomery County, Maryland, roughly northwest of Washington, D.C. It drains to the Potomac River.-Course:The creek begins with two main tributaries:...
External links
- "The Little Seneca Creek Watershed." MCDEP
- Whitewater Info for Little Seneca Creek - Riverfacts.com