The following information was provided by Masaya Maeda of the Anacostia Watershed Society.
AWS has decided to conduct a SCA (Stream Corridor Assessment) survey on the Northwest Branch and has already conducted it on a small portion of the stream. We would like to identify environmental problems such as eroding stream banks, inadequate stream buffers, exposed pipes, altered stream channels, fish migration barriers, pipe outfalls, in-stream construction sites and trash dumping locations along the branch. The major findings will be reported appropriately. The data will be also used to raise people's awareness of stream problems and eventually it will be incorporated into WRAS project by State Government.
Site # 205131C represents for sites of 205131, 205132, and 205133
Survey Date: 1/13/2005
Site# 204110 Exposed Pipe, (Fish Barrier)
This exposed pipe was also identified during the past SCA survey on Sligo Creek. The large pipe actually lies across the NWB around the confluence of NWB and Sligo Creek. The exposed pipe WAS a fish barrier but it is not a fish barrier anymore thanks to a restoration effort done by M-NCPPC. Until then, the whole upstream river habitat of NWB and Sligo Creek was separated from the downstream portion of the Anacostia by this exposed pipe. Although this is no longer a fish barrier, it is still an exposed pipe.
Before
SCA survey on Sligo Creek, spring, 2004
|
After
SCA survey on NWB, Winter, 2005
|
Diagrammatic Explanation on how the restoration effort works (side view of the stream)
Site # 205129 Trash Dumping
This tributary of NWB has much trash all along the stream. But, this area has much more trash than the other area.
The trash comes from Washington, DC. It is very ugly.
Site # 205131-2 Erosion Site
The maximum height of this erosion site is about 15 feet.
Site # 205132 Exposed Pipe
This is the same location as the erosion site (#205131). At the foot of the eroded bank, a pipe is severely exposed.
The day will come soon that the pipe is punctured.
Site # 205133 Unusual Condition
After a slight rainfall, a District of Columbia source of Northwest Branch turned brown probably due to sediment discharge from a stormwater pipe (or a buried stream).
This is strange to me because DC has Combined Collection system, which collects sewage and rainwater together into a wastewater treatment plant.
Theoretically, there should not be any discharge from DC stormwater pipe on dry-weather & light-rain condition.
We will ask DC government for explanation about this case.
(Later, it turned out that some portion of the DC employs Separate Sanitary Collection system, which collects sewage separately from stormwater.)
Before
Greenish water: I am not sure if the green color is of algae or phytoplankton. It seems to me that the color is similar to that of car coolant.
|
After
After a slight rainfall, the water color changed to brown probably due to sediment discharge. If I were a fish, I would not want to swim in the turbid water.
|
This water is one of sources of NWB.
