Frederick County Stream Survey

Stewards of the Watershed

The Frederick County Stream Survey annually monitors the condition of local watershed areas and makes this information available to the public. Our survey process uses water samples, inventories of plant and aquatic insect populations, and habitat assessments to identify problem areas, assess larger trends in water quality, and determine the overall ecological health of our watershed. 

Our Stream Survey methods are based on the statewide Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS), administered by Maryland Department of Natural Resources. MBSS Protocol provides direction on collecting habitat, water quality, plant, and animal data for each stream we sample. This data snapshot provides us with a picture of the stream's health. As we sample throughout the County over time, we hope to compile enough ongoing data to determine which streams are getting healthier, which streams are at risk, and what is causing any changes.

To learn more about how the Stream Survey works, read our blog post, "Now Streaming!"

What is a Watershed?

A “watershed” is an area of land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt into creeks, streams, and rivers and eventually to outflow points such as the Chesapeake Bay and onward to oceans.

For a fascinating animated view of how a watershed works, visit https://river-runner.samlearner.com. You can click on their map to drop a virtual raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch the path of its flow in action.

In Frederick County, there are five major watershed areas, subdivided into twenty smaller sub-watersheds.