We hope your plans for the end of the year and beginning of the new year include lots of hikes along the Northwest Branch, and that you'll join us in promoting its health! Stay tuned for educational programs, cleanups, and hiking fun with us in the NWB Stream Valley Park, a true urban treasure.
Neighbors of the NW Branch, along with the Friends of Oxon Run in DC and Holmes Run in Fairfax County, VA, participated in the visionary assessment organized by Eliza Cava of the Audubon Naturalist Society. Our streams were scored for ability of aquatic life to thrive, human access, resilience to climate change, and biodiversity and habitats.
The beauty of it all is that the story has not ended. It is being written all the time, and YOU can help write it so that it is a tale of improvement.
Check out the report! You'll also find history, maps, and stream user interviews in an interactive format--and of course information about the grading criteria.
The NWB ended the season on a high note, with a better than passing grade! That was due to our relative lack of rain prior to the monitoring date.
While the NWB came off smelling like a rose, sites in Sligo Creek were not as fortunate. Two of the three sites on Sligo failed, but Long Branch, usually unhealthy, was better! Go figure.
All sites failed, which could be expected following so much rain. The message: stay out of the water this weekend.
A reminder to Northwest Branch users --that yellow mark the Branch so often gets at Burnt Mills means caution near the water. RED means stay clear!
Bad news all the way around.
Burnt Mills was passable, but certainly not great. Would love to see a green column there!
The NWB monitoring site at Burnt Mills had an E.coli level of 235.9, passing but not great. The storm will have raised that level considerably, so stay out of the water for the next few days.
We continue to get frequent rains, which tend to bring more bacteria into the water. At NWB-2, our E.coli reading was 307.6, in the "moderate" range. More info on the ARK monitoring program.
Bacterial (E.coli) levels were off the chart at all sites, including the Northwest Branch. No need for the bar chart.
For more information about the Anacostia Riverkeeper water quality monitoring program, see https://www.anacostiariverkeeper.org/programs/water-quality-monitoring/
February 2, 2021
Your participation and generous contributions enable us to improve the health of the Northwest Branch.
Membership levels:
Salamander Saver - $20 - $49
Wood Frog Friend $50 - 99
Great Blue Heron Hero - $100 +
ALL donations are appreciated!
Prefer a check? Send to P.O. Box 4314, Silver Spring, MD 20914. Thanks!
