Watts Branch (Potomac River)

Watts Branch is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The headwaters of the stream originate in the city of Rockville, and the branch flows southwest for about 10 miles, under the C&O Canal near Swain's Lock, to the Potomac River, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed area is about 28.5 mi².

Portions of Watts Branch flow through a [http://www.mc-mncppc.org/Parks/park_of_the_day/jul/parkday_jul10.shtm stream valley park] which acts as a riparian buffer zone to help minimize stream bank erosion and filter pollutants from stormwater runoff.

Development Impacts on Water Quality

While some parts of the Watts Branch watershed are parkland or remain forested, the area is adjacent to the Rockville town center and the highway I-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. [City of Rockville, MD. [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/government/census/ "Demographic Statistics"] Retrieved 11/30/07.] 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. [City of Rockville, MD. [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/environment/watersheds/Watts-Branch-Watershed-Study.pdf "Watts Branch Watershed Study and Management Plan Final Report."] August 6, 2001.] [Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Rockville, MD. [http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/restoration/watts.pdf "Watts Branch Restoration Study: Task 1 Report."] March 2003.] A number of stream restoration projects have been undertaken by both governments. 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. [Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Rockville, MD. [http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/SPA/2005reportspa.pdf "Special Protection Area Program Annual Report 2005."] January 2007.]

Tributaries of Watts Branch

Major tributaries of Watts Branch include:
*Research Boulevard Tributary
*Valley Drive Tributary
*Cold Spring Tributary
*Fallsreach Tributary
*Potomac Green Tributary
*Kilgour Branch
*Potomac View Branch
*Piney Branch
*Piney Glen Tributary
*Greenbriar Branch
*Sandy Branch

References

ee also

*List of Maryland rivers
*Watts Branch (Anacostia River)

External links

* [http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/csps/watersheds/csps/html/watts.asp Countywide Stream Protection Strategy: Watts Branch Watershed.] Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP)
* [http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/dep/restoration/watts.pdf Watts Branch Restoration Study] MCDEP
* [http://www.rockvillemd.gov/environment/watersheds/wattsbranch.html City of Rockville - Watts Branch Watershed] Overview, Watershed Study & Management Plan