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The Little Paint Branch Watershed 

The Little Paint Branch watershed is located in the easternmost area of the County. It flows into Prince Georges County where it joins Paint Branch which then continues to the Anacostia River. The Little Paint Branch watershed has the unique characteristic of being a transition area between the Piedmont ecoregion and the Coastal Plain ecoregion, and its biological community reflects this transition. Streams in the Piedmont generally are faster flowing on steeper gradients with a more rocky substrate. Coastal Plain streams generally are slower, more meandering, with a sandier substrate. Stream resource conditions range from poor in the lower tributaries of Little Paint Branch, fair in the middle reaches below Greencastle Rd., to good above Greencastle Rd.

The Little Paint Branch watershed is transected by the major transportation corridor of Route 29, one of the County's major suburban communities, providing many opportunities for jobs and housing, and containing many of the County's important industrial/commercial complexes. Much of this watershed has received regional stormwater controls to mitigate the effects of high density land uses, particularly above Briggs Chaney Rd. The lower reaches in Little Paint Branch were developed prior to requirements for stormwater control. The high densities and lack of available land on which to place remedial facilities will make it difficult to mitigate the degraded conditions in the lower tributaries.

Maintaining and improving conditions in the Little Paint Branch is an important component of the overall Anacostia restoration effort, particularly in the efforts to improve water quality from high-intensity land uses. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with an interagency work group, has coordinated the development of a report on the condition of the entire Little Paint Branch based on the current state of knowledge from many sources. The watershed contains high quality stream reaches in its northern tributaries within Montgomery County that are a high priority for protection to maintain a functioning stream system.

Little Paint Branch Stream Condition, Habitat Conditions, and Watershed Management Category Designation

Stream Condition

some areas exhibit higher habitat condition

Watershed Protection Area - special level

Little Paint Branch Watershed Management Categories

Many of the subwatersheds in Little Paint Branch have transferable development right (TDR) receiving areas, an important implementation tool in the County's agricultural preservation program. Higher density uses in these areas allow the County to transfer development rights from land in the Agricultural Reserve and locate housing and jobs in parts of the County that have or are planned for more intensive infrastructure improvements.

Watershed Protection Areas - Special level of protection

The subwatersheds located in the top of the watershed, including Silverwood, have developed more recently than the lower reaches, and stormwater controls have been more widely used in these areas. Imperviousness is expected to increase considerably in the Silverwood tributary and special protection tools are recommended for this area to ensure that the stream quality, which contains areas of high quality habitat, is protected.

• Increase educational efforts to inform residents and developers of the sensitive stream resource.
  

Watershed Protection Areas - Remedial level of protection

Also found in the upper tributaries are areas that are exhibiting problems from older development and previous land uses. In the McKnew Park Tributary and Greencastle Tributary, remedial measures to address specific problem areas can help to ensure that conditions do not worsen. In the Greencastle Tributary, large areas of the subwatershed are treated by regional stormwater facilities and opportunities to improve runoff controls are limited.

• Utilize regular protection tools and increased public education, along with efforts to repair damage to stream channels.
• Continue efforts as part of the overall Anacostia Watershed Restoration Project to identify and implement stream restoration and habitat improvement projects.
  

Watershed Restoration Areas

The subwatersheds in the lower part of the watershed, Tanglewood and Galway Tributaries, have undergone more development than the upper tributaries, and varying levels of impairment are seen in these areas, particularly around concentrated areas of development, such as the Briggs Chaney Rd. area. In the Tanglewood area, regional stormwater controls have been installed to help protect downstream reaches. In all of these areas, watershed restoration approaches including stream restoration to address erosion and stream bank instability are recommended, and are underway in several areas.

• Continue efforts as part of the overall Anacostia Watershed Restoration Project to identify and implement stream restoration and habitat improvement projects.
  

Maps

Land Cover
Impervious Area
Stream Condition
Management Categories

Land Cover Graph

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