Rock Creek Watershed Restoration <br/> Montgomery County, MD

A pond in a small constructed wetland above Sycamore Creek. The constructed wetland required only a small parcel of otherwise unusable land to create the project. Today, the wetland bio-degrades contaminants in stormwater. DEP monitoring indicates that the ponds do not increase the mosquito population, as the pond creates a natural habitat in which mosquito predators outnumber prey.

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) received a $2 million TE grant in 2000 to construct channel restoration and habitat improvements in Rock Creek Park. In an effort to restore and protect the Rock Creek watershed, which ultimately drains to the Chesapeake Bay, this project added modern stormwater controls to 730 acres to the Turkey Branch Stream subwatershed (approx. 30% of the drainage area). The project including work along 12,000 feet of the Turkey Branch Stream, along 13,400 feet of the Sycamore Creek, and along Joseph's Branch Stream. The Rock Creek watershed drains approximately 60 square miles.

You can learn more about the DEP’s work in this watershed by visiting their website at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/restoration/home.asp