Western Branch
Stream Corridor
Assessment Survey


The Western Branch watershed encompasses about 71,114 acres (111 square miles) of land. In 1998, the Maryland Clean Water Action Plan identified the Western Branch watershed as one of the State’s water bodies that did not meet water quality requirements. In response to this finding, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Prince George’s County formed a partnership to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) for the Western Branch Watershed. As part of the WRAS development process, a Stream Corridor Assessment (SCA) survey was performed on three sub-watersheds: Collington Branch, Lottsford Branch, and Northeast Branch. The survey began in April 2003 and was completed by June 2003.

The SCA survey was developed by the Watershed Assessment and Targeting Division of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to provide a rapid examination of the stream network in a watershed. The survey is done using specially trained field teams that walked the entire stream network and note the location of a variety of potential environmental problems. As part of the survey, field teams also collected some basic information about stream habitat conditions at regular intervals. This survey is not intended to be a detailed scientific evaluation, and the data collected about any specific problem is limited. Instead, the survey is designed to give an overview of the condition of the stream system so that future restoration efforts can be better targeted.

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