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Friends of Sligo Creek
Newsletter November 2012
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Ellen X. Silverberg photo |
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Hurricane Waters Rush through Sligo
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High water-flow in Long Branch at 5 pm on Oct 29, looking downstream from the Carroll Ave. bridge. Wilpers photo
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Water flow in Sligo Creek experienced a nearly 1,000-fold increase during the peak of the superstorm Sandy that blew through the Mid Atlantic.
The USGS water gauge for Sligo Creek, located just upstream of Maple Ave. in Takoma Park, showed that Sligo Creek went from less than one cubic foot per second of flow to 895 cubic feet per second at about 10 pm on October 29. (These readings are provisional, subject to verification.)
The gauge on Sligo was installed in 2008 and has been monitoring water flow ever since. Recently, USGS augmented the device so that it now measures a variety of water quality factors.
Even though the gauge has only been operating for five years, Mike Smith (Water Quality Committee) reports that it has already recorded three instances when water flow was higher than during Sandy:
May 26, 2009 2,420 cfs
August 12, 2010 2,350 cfs
August 14, 2011 1,120 cfs
The gauge's measurements can always be viewed at USGS Sligo gauge.
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The two stormwater ponds on Wheaton Branch, just below Dennis Ave, became
one large pond on October 29. E. Murtagh photo
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Become a Sligo Water WatchDog!
Ever see water pollution or smell a foul odor in Sligo Creek or its tributaries and wonder how to report it? Now, thanks to the work of the new Sligo Water WatchDogs, you can easily get the word to county authorities through a dedicated email address.
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This kind of pollution, found in Sligo's Bennington Tributary, can now be more easily reported to DEP.
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Just send an email about your observations, as soon you notice the pollution, to ReportSligoPollution@fosc.org. The email address relays your report directly to Steve Martin and his colleagues at the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Sending your reporting promptly is crucial, so that DEP staff can track down the source of the pollution before it dissipates.
This innovative program is the creation of long-time pollution activist Anne Vorce, along with Kathleen Samiy, in partnership with Friends of Sligo Creek and DEP.
The program is based on Anne's work on improving water quality in the Bennington Tributary for more than five years. During that time, she has prompted investigations into sewage spills, hazardous spills, sediment discharges, commercial pollution, and a laundry room overflow from a nearby apartment building that ended up in our waterway. As a result of her citizen reports, DEP and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) have issued fines and stopped the pollution.
When you make your report, type into the subject line "Sligo Creek." In the body of the email, give (1) your name and e-mail or phone, (2) the date and time, (3) the location (by nearest house address, cross-street, landmark, or FOSC section) and (4) a description of the pollution, including color, clarity (transparency), smell, and whether it includes debris. Attaching a photo always helps.
By being the eyes and ears of DEP, neighbors living near the creek, walking their dogs, or taking a stroll can help make a big difference in improving the quality of water in Sligo. For more information, SligoWaterWatchDog@gmail.com.
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University of Maryland Students
Tackle Bush Honeysuckle
A large swath of invasive Bush Honeysuckle is no longer dominating one landscape in Sligo, thanks to the hard work of six students from the University of Maryland's CIVICUS program.
Last month, students Jordan Tessler, Chris Woodruff, Caleb Condor, John Costello, Nathan Brandli, and Dorothy Singletary cleared the non-native shrub from a large area near the intersection of Sligo Creek Parkway and Three Oaks Drive. Nathan Brandli was a return volunteer, having worked on invasives in Sligo last spring. They all worked under the supervision of Jim Anderson, Weed Warrior Supervisor for Montgomery Parks and chair of FOSC's RIP (Remove Invasive Plants) committee
CIVICUS is a two-year living and learning undergraduate program that links academic coursework with participation in internships and community service.
Bush honeysuckle is the dominant invasive shrub in our Park and may be the most abundant shrub here of any kind. Removing this plant from the area helps open the woods so that the native plants can better compete for sunlight, water, and soil nutrients.
For more information, or to volunteer your group for invasives work in Sligo, contact Jim Anderson at invasives@fosc.org. |
Mix of Fish Species Shows Sligo's Ecological Health
Still "Fair"
For the third year in a row, Sligo Creek's waters exhibited "fair" conditions for aquatic life in biological monitoring by the county Parks Department in 2012, still up from the "poor" ratings of earlier years.
Even though the variety of fish species was down this year, a dramatic increase in abundance of Longnose Dace, classified as "somewhat intolerant" of pollution, qualified the stream for the "fair" category of ecological quality.
Parks Department staff carried out the monitoring in a 75-meter stretch of Sligo Creek just downstream from the Carroll Avenue bridge.
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Longnose Dace accounted for 42 percent of all fish captured in Sligo in recent monitoring.
It is "somewhat intolerant" of pollution, so its abundance bodes well for Sligo habitat quality.
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Two trends in the results may be worrying: Monitors counted only ten species of fish, down from 13 in 2010 and 12 in 2009 (but still far above the three species counted prior to major restoration work. No monitoring was done in 2011.) Also of concern is the fact that 2012 monitoring failed to find four species ─ all found in '10 or '09 ─ that are indicative of better stream health: Spotfish Shiner, Silverjaw Minnow, Bluenose Miinnow, and Brown Bullhead.
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Kieth Van Ness helps children re-introduce
native fish into Sligo Creek in 2007. Wilpers photo
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Compensating for these losses was the tremendous number of Longnose Dace caught this year, accounting for more than 42 percent of more than 1,100 fish caught by monitors, compared to just 10 to 15 percent in prior years.
Another result of the survey was doubling in the number of American Eel, a native top predator that spawns in the Atlantic Ocean but lives most of its life in fresh water. Fifteen eels were found this year, up from seven in 2010 and two and five in preceding years. Since the eels are also only "somewhat tolerant" of polution, this is another encouraging development.
Powerpoint slides showing the sampling methods and full results from 2007−2012 are on our website at www.fosc.org. For more information, contact Mike Smith, chair of the Water Quality Committee, at waterquality@fosc.org.
─ Michael Wilpers, President
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Join Us & Support
Friends of Sligo Creek
 Help us protect, restore, and promote Sligo Creek as a natural resource for our community. Join or renew your membership today. Annual memberships are $20 for individuals. Donations of any amount also are welcome.
Follow this link to make an online donation using PayPal or send a check to PO Box 11572, Takoma Park, MD 20913.
Questions? Please email treasurer@fosc.org.
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Report Your Nature Sightings!
Share your sightings of birds, flowers, rocks, and other wonders of the Park through the "Sightings" page of our website: www.fosc.org/sightings.htm.
That's where you can also find photos like this one of a Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar found on parsley near Dale and Piney Branch. It is considered "uncommon" in Sligo.
To report your sightings or see what other people have observed, go to www.fosc.org/sightings.htm. |
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Friends of Sligo Creek is a nonprofit community organization dedicated to protecting, improving, and appreciating the ecological health of Sligo Creek Park and its surrounding watershed.
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