Bacteria Monitoring

Fecal Bacteria Testing Starts with a big FAIL

It’s the second week of our summer fecal bacteria testing program and all three creeks in the watershed have failed to meet the MD Standards for Safe Water Play. This is the second week in a row that the sites on the Willett Branch have failed; The Little Falls site below Mass Avenue failed again. And the Minnehaha creek site has shown serious fecal pollution for the past two weeks. This is the first year that we have tested the Minnehaha Branch.

Report Concludes Area Streams have a Serious Fecal Bacteria Problem

For the third consecutive summer, the fecal bacteria levels in the Little Falls watershed have exceeded the Maryland State Standards for recreational water use - even for infrequent human contact. According to the 15 week study of eight sites along two creeks in the watershed, both creeks at all locations fail to meet the criteria for safe water play.

MoCo DEP to Investigate Source of Human Fecal Bacteria in Willett Branch

After so much bad news about the fecal bacteria levels in the Little Falls Watershed - especially the out of the ballpark numbers on the Willett Branch where it runs behind the Bethesda Pool -Little Falls Watershed Alliance is happy to share some good news.