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The Paint Branch Watershed 

Located in the eastern area of Montgomery County, Paint Branch is one of three major County watersheds draining to the Anacostia River, a major tributary of the Potomac River. The other watersheds are the Northwest Branch (which includes the Sligo Creek drainage) and Little Paint Branch. Paint Branch supports a unique County and regional resource - an urban cold-water fishery and wild brown trout population in close proximity to the Nation's capital and surrounded by suburban development. The upper reaches of the watershed and, in particular, Good Hope and Gum Springs, provide spawning/nursery areas and cold clean baseflow for young trout. The Right Fork and lower portion of the Left Fork provide adult habitat and food supply as well as cold-water baseflow and an important refugia for the biological community during times of stress or impact to the streams. The Lower Paint Branch also supports a diverse fish community, including rosyside dace, fallfish, and common shiner, and is used as adult trout habitat down to Interstate 495.

Land uses in the Upper Paint Branch include low and medium density residential communities interspersed with some commercial and agricultural activities. Much of the development in this area was built before the requirement for stormwater controls. As a result, streams in these older developed areas show signs of impairment, though on a much smaller scale than the lower parts of the watershed. Large areas of forested parkland serve to protect the riparian area throughout much of Upper Paint Branch as well as to keep overall watershed imperviousness relatively low. Resource conditions range from excellent to good in this area.

Tributaries in the Lower Paint Branch watershed have suffered impairment over the years from older development and land uses that do not have adequate stormwater controls. The lower watershed contains significant areas of high impervious commercial land use as well as medium to high density residential areas built largely without any on-site runoff controls. Forest cover in the lower watershed is largely confined to the stream valleys but does help to prevent the stream temperatures from heating beyond the upper temperature limits of the adult brown trout found here. Resource conditions in Lower Paint Branch range from good to poor.

Because of the unique cold-water community in this watershed, one of the few remaining in Montgomery County, the Paint Branch has received much attention over the years and has been the focus of many innovative efforts to address the effects of land use on the stream resource. A primary goal of land use planning efforts, starting with the 1981 Master Plan, has been to protect the streams from the effects of development. These efforts continue at many levels today. Large areas of Upper Paint Branch have been acquired for parkland to limit overall watershed imperviousness. The upper watershed (above Fairland Rd.) was designated a Special Protection Area in 1995 and development built after the implementation of this legislation is limited to a 10% impervious area cap.

County biologists, working cooperatively with others, continue to investigate the condition of the streams and the success various BMPs have in preserving this unique area. Apart from protecting this watershed for the benefit of our County's natural heritage, maintaining the unique quality and diversity of this area preserves a healthy arm and refugia for the overall Anacostia which may someday prove valuable in restoring biological conditions in this regional watershed.

Paint Branch Stream Condition, Habitat Condition and Management Category Designation

Stream Condition
Habitat Condition
Primary Factors Affecting Stream Condition
Unique Characteristics and Management Category

Bank Stability POOR in areas
Fish community shows impacts of riffle sedimentation. Channel widening and sedimentation occurring. Lack of stormwater control in headwaters.
Important spawning areas for wild brown trout.

Existing Special Protection Area

Bank stability POOR in areas
Biological community remains diverse despite channel widening/sedimentation.
Important spawning areas for wild brown trout.

Existing Special Protection Area

In-stream Fish cover sub-optimal - poor sinuosity
Recent pollution events have impacted aquatic life resulting in Fair biological integrity. Log drop structures improve habitat somewhat.
Provides spawning habitat, cold baseflow and refugia.

Existing Special Protection Area

Existing Special Protection Area

Existing Special Protection Area

Existing Special Protection Area

Existing Special Protection Area

(preliminary)
FAIR

(preliminary)
Riparian area heavily impacted and sediment deposition high.




Existing Special Protection Area

Embeddedness and sediment deposition POOR
Riparian area heavily impacted. Uncontrolled stormwater runoff and sediment deposition problems.
Construction of a peat/sand filter has recently been completed to improve runoff entering mainstem.

Watershed Restoration Area

(preliminary)
GOOD overall

(preliminary)
Problems with sediment deposition and bank stability in some areas.




Watershed Restoration Area

(preliminary)
Reconnaissance indicates poor habitat condition

(preliminary)
Recurring pollution events have had an impact on this trib.




Watershed Restoration Area

Watershed Restoration Area

Watershed Protection Area - Remedial Level

(preliminary)
Reconnaissance indicates poor habitat conditions

(preliminary)
 




Watershed Restoration Area

Paint Branch Watershed Management Categories

Two management approaches are necessary to address stream protection needs in the Paint Branch watershed. First, the Upper Paint Branch subwatersheds are fragile and unique headwater areas which require special levels of protection to ensure that the streams are protected. Due to the unique wild trout fishery and high quality cold-water ecosystem, Special Protection Area designation was granted for the Upper Paint Branch subwatershed in 1995. This was done to protect the resource from impacts from new development. Extensive areas of land have also been recommended for acquisition for parkland in order to reduce imperviousness. Second, in areas where stormwater controls do not exist, stormwater retrofit and stream restoration projects are underway to improve conditions to complement the watershed protection approach.

Watershed Protection Areas

Special level of protection

In the Upper Paint Branch watershed above Fairland Rd., all subwatersheds require a special level of protection and Special Protection Area designation was legislatively granted in 1995. Existing watershed management activities include:

• Parkland acquisition and land use controls in accordance with adopted Master Plan.
• Special Protection Area regulations on new development.
• DEP's Capital Improvements Program which includes projects to implement a series of stormwater retrofit and stream restoration projects throughout the watershed as part of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Project.
• Public Education efforts through Eyes of Paint Branch and other local groups to increase stewardship; Pipe Detectives program to involve citizens in pollution prevention efforts and identification of illicit stormdrain discharges.
• Paint Branch Watershed Restoration Action Plan being developed to identify any additional actions to address older developed areas which have no stormwater controls in Upper Paint Branch.

• Continue existing efforts through the Special Protection Area regulations and Master Plan initiatives.
• Increase public education activities, particularly pool operator education, and yard trim recycling.
• Target stormwater retrofit projects and stream restoration activities to solve existing problems.
• Implement impervious area reduction strategies.

Remedial level of protection

This management category includes the Middle Paint Branch mainstem. The middle mainstem is protected by parkland, however, sediment deposition from tributaries and upstream areas affects habitat conditions. Projects to improve habitat and address erosion problems will ensure that the mainstem continues to provide adequate habitat to support the unique fishery in this watershed.

• Continue implementation of habitat improvement efforts through the Anacostia Watershed Restoration effort, and pursue identification of potential projects as part of the development of a Paint Branch Watershed Restoration Action Plan

Watershed Restoration Areas

In the lower watershed below Fairland Rd., impacts from previous development have affected all the tributaries to some extent and these areas require an overall restoration approach to restore habitat and protect the tributaries from further damage.

• Continue implementation of Capital Improvement Program watershed restoration activities to implement stormwater retrofit and stream restoration projects.
• Public Education efforts through Eyes of Paint Branch and other local groups to increase public stewardship.
• Pipe Detectives program to involve local citizens in pollution prevention efforts and identification of illicit stormdrain discharges.
• Institute Pollution Prevention activities at commercial, industrial, and high density residential uses, particularly those draining to the Stewart-April Lane Trib.
• Increase public education activities, particularly household hazardous waste, yard trim recycling, etc.

Maps

Land Cover
Impervious Area
Stream Condition
Management Categories

Land Cover Graph

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