09/18/2026
Good news for the Little Falls Watershed waterways. All the testing sites on the Little Falls Branch, on the Minnehaha creek and on the Potomac River at Sycamore Island met Maryland State Standards for safe water play for two weeks running now! Unfortunately, f***l pollution in the Willett Branch continues to be a big problem, so avoid that lovely stretch of creek that runs from the Bethesda Pool along Chevy Chase West to Dorset Avenue where is disappears underground for a mile or so. Yes, the water looks inviting but no, you shouldn't swim, drink or have contact with it if you have open sores.
The bacteria testing program is an initiative of the Little Falls Watershed Alliance. This is our last test for the summer. We tested 9 sites once a week so that people could know if the creeks were safe for water play. The safety issues are mostly about getting sick from ingesting water that is polluted with e.coli, but since people are known to swim even in little creeks, we feel that everyone should be aware of the health risks. Open sores are a problem too - e.coli can cause nasty secondary infections.
One question we get a lot is "where does the e.coli come from?" This is a very hard question to answer for an urban stream which gets water from so many sources. Our storm drain system goes directly to the creeks, so anything in the gutters or the underground storm drain pipes ends up in the creek. (That's why putting dog wastes in the gutter is a no-no}. Sewer lines in buildings can sometimes be hooked up to the storm drain system by mistake. This happened at the Hyatt Hotel causing huge amounts of raw sewage to enter the creek. And just plain run-off can carry f***l bacteria. Dog wastes on the lawn are swept into the gutters when it rains. And there is wildlife wastes. Some creeks near golf courses record high levels of f***l bacteria if a flock of geese has taken residency!
The good news is that LFWA is working with State and County officials to look into the problem. Urban creeks are not tested very often. Frankly - the testing usually focuses on larger waterways. We are one of the first small groups to run a robust testing program and I think that it has been enlightening for many. And hopefully will lead to some meaningful changes. We were able to get the problem at the Hyatt fixed. And just letting people know is important. I know that my kids grew up playing in the Willett Branch without any understanding of just what a health risk that posed.
