Watts Branch (Potomac River)

Watts Branch
Tributaries
 - left Fallsmead, Horizon Hill, Cold Spring, Fallsreach, Kilgour Branch
 - right Research Blvd., Lakewood, Valley Dr., Piney Branch, Sandy Branch
Source
 - location Rockville, Maryland
 - coordinates 39°05′48″N 77°09′26″W / 39.0967748°N 77.1572024°W / 39.0967748; -77.1572024
Mouth Potomac River
 - location Montgomery County, Maryland
 - elevation 167 ft (51 m)
 - coordinates 39°02′23″N 77°15′36″W / 39.0398312°N 77.2599817°W / 39.0398312; -77.2599817Coordinates: 39°02′23″N 77°15′36″W / 39.0398312°N 77.2599817°W / 39.0398312; -77.2599817
Length 11.2 mi (18 km)
Basin 22 sq mi (57 km2)

Watts Branch is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Course

The headwaters of the stream originate in the city of Rockville, and the branch flows southwest for 11.2 miles (18.0 km),[1] under the C&O Canal near Swain's Lock, to the Potomac River, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed area is about 22 square miles (57 km2).[2]:p. 1–3

Portions of Watts Branch flow through a stream valley park, a mostly undeveloped natural area which acts as a riparian buffer zone to help minimize stream bank erosion and filter pollutants from stormwater runoff.[3]

Development impacts on water quality

While some parts of the Watts Branch watershed are parkland or remain forested, the area is adjacent to Rockville town center and the Interstate 270 corridor. This community has experienced extensive residential and commercial development over the past several decades. Population in the Rockville city limits (of which only a portion is in the Watts Branch watershed) doubled between 1960 and 2003, from approximately 26,000 to 52,000.[4] These development trends have led to degraded water quality due to stormwater pollution in some portions of the Watts Branch mainstem and tributaries. The stream and watershed have been the subject of extensive studies and planning by Montgomery County and the City of Rockville.[2][5] A number of stream restoration projects have been undertaken by both governments.[6] In order to preserve water quality in a partially developed area, the county has imposed some restrictions on development (i.e. designation of a "Special Protection Area") in part of the Piney Branch sub-watershed.[7]

Tributaries of Watts Branch

Major tributaries of Watts Branch include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
  2. 1 2 City of Rockville, MD. Watts Branch Watershed Study and Management Plan Final Report. August 6, 2001.
  3. ↑ Montgomery County Department of Parks (2011). "Watts Branch Stream Valley Park."
  4. ↑ City of Rockville, MD. Demographic Statistics Retrieved 11/30/07.
  5. ↑ Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP), Rockville, MD. "Watts Branch Restoration Study: Task 1 Report." March 2003.
  6. ↑ MCDEP (2012). "Muddy Branch and Watts Branch Subwatersheds Inplementation Plan."
  7. ↑ MCDEP. Special Protection Area Program Annual Report 2008. Document No. AR-SPA-08. January 2010.
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