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The Dry Seneca Creek and Little Seneca Creek Pre-Assessment Report (42 pp, 8116 kb)
Little Seneca
Little Seneca Creek is a large subwatershed to Great Seneca that drains a sizeable portion of the western part of the County, including areas of Clarksburg, Germantown, and Boyds. The stream begins south of Damascus, and flows southwest, passing through Little Seneca Lake, before flowing into Great Seneca Creek near Dawsonville. Land uses in the Little Seneca watershed are mixed, ranging from older rural and agricultural uses, to newer high-density residential and commercial areas. To protect this watershed from the effects of ongoing urbanization in the headwaters, there have been extensive planning efforts including density limitations, stream valley park acquisition, reforestation, and designation of part of Clarksburg as an SPA.
Dry Seneca
Dry Seneca originates south of Barnesville and receives drainage from Beallsville and the Town of Poolesville. The primary land use is agriculture, with the exception of the town of Poolesville. Large lot residential areas are permitted within the Agricultural Preserve. Much of the upper drainage contains forested areas. The habitat in the stream is generally good, although certain areas are influenced by excessive levels of sediment deposition due to effects of urbanization.
In 2000, the stream reach below the Town of Poolesville's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was found to be biologically impaired. The DEP has worked with Maryland Department of the Environment and the Town of Poolesville to ensure that the WWTP and sewer lines are upgraded and that the source of the impairment has been corrected.
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