Willett Branch – Norwood Park

Managed by Little Falls Watershed Alliance

Find the Willett Branch site downstream from the Bethesda Pool, near Norwood Park in Chevy Chase. You can access the creek by scrambling down the banks. There you will be welcomed by a sparking creek tumbling over rocks. There are little pools, stepping stones and plenty of places to hunt for macroinvertebrates or just sit and read a book.

This monitoring site is located at the northern most point of the Little Falls Stream Valley Park. Though most of the Willett Branch is channelized in concrete ditches or enclosed in storm drains, there is a lovely short natural stretch on the Little Falls Stream Valley Hiker/Biker. On weekends, the Parkway is closed, so come and enjoy the creek and a walk or bike-ride on 1 miles of closed parkway.

Willet Branch joins the Little Falls Creek north of Massachusetts Ave on Little Falls Parkway.

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Water Quality

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 15th, 2022. Little Falls Watershed Alliance updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on September 15th, 2022 at 4:29 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Little Falls Watershed Alliance has trained volunteers monitor water quality at several locations in the Little Falls Watershed, a sub-watershed of the Potomac. Monitoring occurs every other week from July through mid-September. Parameters to be monitored include levels of E.Coli, pH, and temperature. The samples are processed by the Anacostia Riverkeeper water quality lab.

The primary parameter of concern is E. coli, a fecal coliform. E. coli is measured in terms of the Most Probable Number /100 ml water and high levels are an indicator of fecal contamination by warm-blooded animals like birds and mammals.

The MD Primary Contact Water Quality Standards are as follows:
• E. coli single sample value = 410 MPN/100mL
• E. coli geometric mean = 126 MPN/100mL

The Little Falls and Willett Branch are rated against these values. PASS indicates the E. coli single sample value is less than or equal to 410 MPN/100mL. FAIL indicates bacteria counts of over 410 MPN/100mL.

Water Quality Graph