Description
Protecting the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir is an important goal for Carroll
County and the rest of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. In order to protect this drinking water
resource, steps have been taken to address problems within the land area draining to the Liberty
Reservoir. The State of Maryland, through the Unified Watershed Assessment process, deemed
Liberty Reservoir the highest priority in need of both protection and restoration. Funding was
then made available to Carroll County to implement a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
(WRAS) that addresses impairments within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed and proposes
solutions to those impairments. The goal of this project was to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for
selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and enhance the water quality of streams draining
to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County, and an assessment of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds.
Liberty Reservoir
Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
Within Carroll County, Maryland
Carroll County
Department of Planning
Bureau of Resource Management
Final Report
March 2003
A Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
for the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County Maryland
A Procedure Established to Assess Watershed Conditions
and Direct Future Watershed Restoration and Protection
Measures
Final Report
March 2003
Carroll County Department of Planning
Bureau of Resource Management
This project was funded in part by the U.S. EPA Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Summary
Protecting the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir is an important goal for Carroll
County and the rest of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. In order to protect this drinking water
resource, steps have been taken to address problems within the land area draining to the Liberty
Reservoir. The State of Maryland, through the Unified Watershed Assessment process, deemed
Liberty Reservoir the highest priority in need of both protection and restoration. Funding was
then made available to Carroll County to implement a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
(WRAS) that addresses impairments within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed and proposes
solutions to those impairments.
The goal of this project was to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for
selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and enhance the water quality of streams draining
to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County, and an assessment of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds.
With the assistance from partner agencies, the Carroll County Water Resource Planning
Division 1) developed a procedure to assess a watershed’s condition, 2) identified threats in that
watershed that reduce the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir, 3) prioritized those
subwatersheds, and 4) targeted subwatersheds to implement action strategies designed to
improve stream conditions and water quality.
The Water Resource Planning Division selected two watersheds to test the watershed
evaluation procedure: Middle Run and Snowdens Run. Watershed assessments involved
gathering and updating watershed-related information, creating new data layers of information
that did not exist previously, and working cooperatively with DNR staff to collect water quality
information within the selected subwatersheds including visual assessments of stream corridors,
nutrient levels, and biological monitoring information.
The seven action strategies developed to improve watershed conditions with the Middle
Run and Snowdens Run watersheds and ultimately drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir
are listed below.
Strategy 1: Nutrient Source Tracking Strategy
Strategy 2: Agriculture Best Management Practice Targeting Strategy
Strategy 3: Stormwater Retrofit/Storm Drain Repair Strategy
Strategy 4: Stream Buffer Planting Strategy
Strategy 5: Database Maintenance Strategy
Strategy 6: Establish Watershed Advisory Committees
Strategy 7: County Program Coordination Strategy
The watershed evaluation procedure established and refined during the grant period will
enable Carroll County to target opportunities for improving watershed conditions in the future.
It is important that this evaluation procedure be followed when adequate resources become
available. Limited funding demands that a rigorous and defensible evaluation procedure be
followed prior to implementing watershed restoration measures.
2
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Acknowledgements
Carroll County’s Water Resource Planning Division (WRPD) wishes to acknowledge the
following partner agencies and groups involved during the creation of this Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy.
1. The Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Restoration Division
2. The Reservoir Technical Group of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council
3. The Carroll County Soil Conservation District
4. The Friends of Carroll County Streams
5. Carroll County Department of Public Works
Many individuals contributed significantly to the success of this project. Without the
assistance from Brenda Morgan, the grant coordinator, this project would not have been possible.
Thanks also to the Maryland Conservation Corps’s Echo Lake Crew for conducting the
stream corridor assessments and compiling the data. Thanks also to several members of the
Carroll County Planning Department for enduring long and thorny days collecting stream
corridor assessment information for the West Branch of the Patapsco.
Other County staff members that contributed to this project include: Jeff Keefer, Rose Mann,
Tara Mayers, Nick Patterson, Stan Pennington, and Mike Roberts. Thanks also to Stan Sharkey
for serving as an editor.
Several members of the DNR staff contributed during the data collection and report writing
phases of this project. Those individuals include among others: Steve Czwartacki, Niles
Primrose, Catherine Rappe, Ken Shanks, and Ken Yetman.
Thanks also to Bill Stack, Benton Watson, and Martin Covington for helping to develop the
action strategies.
Although this project is funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency, it does not
necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the EPA.
Comments or questions can be directed to:
Tom Devilbiss [email protected] or Steve Nelson [email protected]
Carroll County Department of Planning
Environment and Resource Protection
Bureau of Resource Management
410-386-2145
3
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Table of Contents
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 4
I. Introduction............................................................................................................................. 5
II. On-going Efforts within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed..................................................... 8
A. Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement .................................................................. 8
B. SCA within the Cranberry Branch Watershed.................................................................... 9
III. Description of Watersheds Selected for Evaluation ........................................................... 9
IV. Watershed Assessments.................................................................................................... 15
A. Gathering and updating existing information ................................................................... 15
B. Creating new data layers................................................................................................... 17
C. Water Resource Protection Easements ............................................................................. 19
D. Database Integration ......................................................................................................... 19
E. Stream Corridor Assessments........................................................................................... 20
1. Landowner Permission Process .................................................................................... 22
2. Refinements to SCA Data Collection Methods ............................................................ 26
3. Summary of Results...................................................................................................... 26
F. Water Quality Data Collected by DNR Staff.................................................................... 28
V. Watershed Evaluation and Prioritization .............................................................................. 28
A. Watershed Protection and Restoration Opportunities....................................................... 29
1. Middle Run Watershed ................................................................................................. 29
2. Snowdens Run Watershed ............................................................................................ 32
VI. Education and Public Outreach......................................................................................... 36
A. Local Meetings.................................................................................................................. 36
B. SCA educational opportunities ......................................................................................... 37
C. Information Brochure........................................................................................................ 37
VII. Action Strategies............................................................................................................... 37
A. Introduction to Action Strategies...................................................................................... 37
1. Nutrient Source Tracking Strategy ............................................................................... 38
2. Agriculture BMP Targeting Strategy............................................................................ 38
3. Stormwater Retrofit and Storm Drain Repair Strategy................................................. 38
4. Stream Buffer Planting Strategy................................................................................... 39
5. Database Update Strategy............................................................................................. 40
6. Establish Watershed Advisory Committees.................................................................. 40
7. County Program Coordination Strategy........................................................................ 41
B. Monitoring Success........................................................................................................... 41
VIII. Next Steps ......................................................................................................................... 42
IX. References......................................................................................................................... 44
4
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
I. Introduction
This report is a culmination of a three-step process to establish a procedure to 1) identify
impairments to the stream system within a watershed, 2) determine the likely causes to those
impairments, and 3) propose opportunities for restoration and mitigation. The solutions, tailored
to each watershed that is assessed and evaluated, can be interpreted as action strategies, or
grouped together as a watershed management plan. Once established, this procedure will
provide the foundation for future watershed assessment and restoration targeting efforts in
Carroll County.
Carroll County, the City of Baltimore, and the State of Maryland all consider the Liberty
Reservoir Watershed (figure 1) a high priority in need of protection primarily because of its use
as a drinking water supply for the Baltimore Metropolitan area including five surrounding
counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard). In 1998, Maryland's Clean
Water Action Plan identified watersheds across the state in need of protection and restoration.
Initially, a Unified Watershed Assessment characterized the condition of Maryland's larger
watersheds and classified each into the following categories:
Category 1 - Watersheds not meeting clean water and other natural resource goals therefore
needing restoration
Category 2 - Watersheds currently meeting goals that need preventive action to sustain water
quality and aquatic resources
Category 3 - Pristine or sensitive watersheds that need an extra level of protection
As a result, Liberty Reservoir's watershed was classified as both a category 1 and 3;
consequently, it is viewed in need of both restoration and an extra level of protection. After the
Unified Watershed Assessment was completed, restoration priorities were assigned to each
watershed. The Liberty Reservoir watershed received the highest priority for restoration and
protection. Only 17 of the 138 larger watersheds (coded with 8-digits) in Maryland were ranked
as highest priority for both restoration and protection. The last step of the Clean Water Action
Plan was to develop action strategies that identify “the most important causes of water pollution
and resource degradation, detail the actions that all parties need to take to solve those problems,
and set milestones by which to measure progress” (Clean Water Action Plan Technical
Workgroup, 1998). Funding was then made available to Carroll County to develop a Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy.
The first step in the development of a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS)
for Liberty Reservoir was to characterize its watershed. The characterization provides analysis
of existing information for the entire watershed of Liberty Reservoir. Staff from the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with input from the Carroll County Water Resource
Planning Division (WRPD), completed this characterization in September 2002. It summarizes
relevant information related to the Liberty Reservoir Watershed. It also describes the condition
of the watershed from many different perspectives (e.g., water quality, water supply, land use,
living resources). Finally, it identifies sources for additional information and analysis. For
further information, the Liberty Reservoir Watershed Characterization can be found on DNR’s
web site at www.dnr.state.md.us/watersheds/surf/proj/wras.html.
5
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
6
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
To develop action strategies, a detailed watershed assessment (at a smaller subwatershed
scale) is necessary to identify the impairments and their probable causes. To accomplish this
goal, WRPD with assistance of DNR, gathered watershed-related information, updated
databases, and collected new information necessary to accurately assess the health or condition
of the stream system within subwatersheds. County staff could not perform the detailed
assessments necessary for the entire Liberty Reservoir Watershed during the one-year grant
period; therefore, WRPD evaluated available water quality monitoring data from the City of
Baltimore and selected two subwatersheds to initially investigate and focused on developing an
assessment and evaluation procedure.
After the watershed assessments were completed, information gathered was combined
and evaluated to identify opportunities to improve watershed conditions. WRPD accomplished
this phase in two steps. First, WRPD identified likely causes to the stream impairments
discovered during the assessment phase. Next, WRPD identified opportunities or action
strategies within each selected subwatershed to address causes of watershed degradation and
protect existing natural resources.
The goal of this project, as stated in the original scope, was to develop a Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) for selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and
enhance the water quality of streams draining to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a
characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed within Carroll County, and an assessment
of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds. A few of the objectives to accomplish this
goal are included here:
• Direct the development of the watershed characterization for Liberty Reservoir
• Conduct stream corridor assessments within selected subwatersheds
• Develop action strategies within the selected subwatersheds based upon likely water
quality concerns identified during the assessment that will identify causes of water
quality degradation, prioritize types of impairment, and identify sources of funding and
technical assistance.
• Identify opportunities to interact with landowners, citizen organizations, and other
governmental agencies for the purposes of engaging cooperators and stakeholders as
appropriate during the development and implementation of the WRAS.
DNR awarded Carroll County Government this grant in November 2001, but because of
numerous delays, actual work did not begin until March 2002. Work related to the grant was
completed in March 2003. WRPD was the primary responsible party; however, DNR’s
Watershed Restoration Division collected much of the water quality data used during the
assessment phase of the process. To create the Liberty Reservoir WRAS, WRPD depended on
cooperation from partner agencies. Assistance from many DNR agencies, the Carroll’s Soil
Conservation District, the Friends of Carroll County Streams, the City of Baltimore’s
Department of Public Works, the Reservoir Technical Group, and other county agencies all
contributed to the success of this project, and it will be required for future implementation
phases.
WRPD used the grant funding primarily to hire a WRAS coordinator. Given the time and
staff constraints, the WRAS coordinator’s role was crucial to the success of this project. The
coordinator’s major duties included updating and creating databases used to assess the condition
7
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
of the watershed, coordinating and managing three Stream Corridor Assessments (SCAs), and
developing GIS data layers and maps.
There are eight sections of this report. After this brief introduction, Section Two reviews
previous work related to watershed protection within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed. Section
Three describes the watersheds used to develop the watershed assessment step in the process.
Section Four describes the methods used to assess the watersheds selected. Section Five
describes the data analysis procedure developed to determine the likely causes of stream
impairments, and then it illustrates how the selected subwatersheds were prioritized. Section Six
identifies educational opportunities already realized and in the future. Section Seven discusses
the action strategies developed as solutions to the likely causes of stream impairments identified.
Section Eight discusses next steps that the WRPD will take to begin implementing the Action
Strategies developed.
II. On-going Efforts within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
A. Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement
In 1984, the Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement was created to protect water
quality of the three reservoirs (Loch Raven, Liberty, and Pretty Boy) owned and operated by the
City of Baltimore. The agreement was signed by the City, surrounding counties (including
Carroll), and regional and state agencies; it was recently reaffirmed in February 2003 with the
endorsement of the current Board of Carroll County Commissioners. According to the 2000
Action Report for the Reservoir Watersheds (Baltimore Metropolitan Council, 2000), the
agreement established “a voluntary, cooperative Reservoir Watershed Protection Program and an
Action Strategy designed to improve water quality in the reservoirs and in its feeder streams.
Focused on the twin goals for reducing phosphorus and sediment, the Action Strategy outlined
specific action steps by each participating organization leading toward achievement of the
Agreement’s goals.”
During the WRAS process, it was WRPD’s desire to complement this on-going regional
effort of reservoir protection. The Action Reports contain recommendations for future work
activities needed to enhance reservoir watershed protection efforts. By completing this WRAS,
the following work activities have been partially addressed for the Liberty Reservoir Watershed:
• Improve tracking of best management practice (BMP) locations. WRPD has developed
GIS data layers and maps showing specific locations of urban and agricultural BMPs.
• Reduce the dissolved phosphorus loads to the reservoir. Targeting stream buffer
plantings in subwatersheds with elevated nutrient load estimates will in-part address this
need.
• Target high priority areas for implementing agricultural BMPs through the subwatershed
assessment and evaluation process.
• Evaluate increasing trends in nutrient and chloride levels within the reservoir. Implement
the strategy to investigate sources of nutrient inputs to the reservoir will address this
need.
• Improve public awareness. Conducting the Stream Corridor Assessments provided many
opportunities for outreach and education. Developing an educational brochure will also
improve public awareness of important watershed concepts.
8
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
B. SCA within the Cranberry Branch Watershed
DNR performed a SCA in 2000 (McCoy, 2000) in cooperation with the City of
Westminster, MDE, and Carroll County to determine likely causes of taste and odor problems of
the source water entering Westminster’s drinking water treatment plant. The Cranberry Branch
Watershed is located near the headwaters of the West Branch of the Patapsco River. Results
from this assessment were used by MDE in part to fulfill U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
requirements for a Source Water Assessment. The Cranberry Branch watershed is one of two
watersheds that the City extracts surface water to supply the residents. The other watershed, the
main stem of the West Branch of the Patapsco (also referred to as the Hull Branch) was not
assessed at that time. The SCA performed during the WRAS process for the entire West Branch
of the Patapsco River complements the existing information and will help to complete their
Source Water Assessment.
III. Description of Watersheds Selected for Evaluation
WRPD selected two watersheds to initially develop the assessment and prioritization
process: Middle Run (1056) and Snowdens Run (1046) (figure 2). WRPD selected Middle Run
because of elevated pollutant loads derived from water sampling performed by the City of
Baltimore. WRPD compared pollutant loads for each of Liberty’s watersheds where data exist
and when divided by watershed size, Middle and Bonds Run (two of the smallest) had the
highest pollutant loads to the reservoir. WRPD also selected the Snowdens Run watershed for a
more detailed watershed assessment. Historically, not much information has been collected
about this suburban watershed located within the community of Eldersburg. In addition,
Snowdens Run is located in close proximity to the water treatment plant intakes for the City and
County. Table 1 compares the size of the major watersheds draining to the reservoir within
Carroll County.
Table 1. Comparison of watersheds draining to Liberty Reservoir within Carroll County.
Watershed Name Land Area (square miles) Rank
Bonds Run 7.1 7
Beaver Run 14.3 3
Little Morgan Run 8.6 4
Morgan Run 28.9 2
Middle Run 8.4 5
Snowdens Run 8.0 6
North Branch of the Patapsco 41.6 1
9
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
10
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
The Middle Run watershed is located in the south-central part of Carroll County. The
boundary or drainage divide for this watershed is Route 32 to the south and Deer Park Road to
the north. There are four roads that completely cross this watershed including (from north to
south) Bird View Road, Niner Road, Gamber Road (Route 91) and Louisville Road. The size of
this watershed is about 5,400 acres or 8.4 square miles. It comprises slightly more than 6% of
the Liberty Reservoir watershed and less than 2% of the County’s land area (figure 3 ).
Agriculture is the dominant land use within this rural watershed (55%). Residential
development is the next largest land use category (about 33%); it is mostly confined to the Route
32 and Deer Park Road corridors north of Route 91. Most of the residential land use is made up
of single-family homes served exclusively by private well and septic systems. About 7% of
Middle Run’s land area is publicly owned. The City of Baltimore owns almost all of the public
land, and it is concentrated in the southern portion of the watershed near the reservoir. Carroll
County owns a small park located at the top of the watershed called Deer Park; it is located near
the intersections of Route 32 and Deer Park Roads. The road network comprises about 3% of
this watershed. Forest covers approximately 21% of the land area largely concentrated near
Liberty Reservoir on City of Baltimore property and along stream valleys in the central portions
of the watershed. Almost 29 miles of streams receive runoff from this watershed.
Refer to Table 2 for a comparison of the major land uses for both of the study
subwatersheds, Liberty Reservoir’s watershed and the county land area. Note that Middle Run’s
land use distribution closely matches that of Liberty Reservoir.
Table 2. Major land use categories within Carroll County and selected watersheds
Land Use Category Middle Run
Watershed
Snowdens Run
Watershed
Liberty
Reservoir
Watershed
Carroll
County
Agriculture 55% 15% 53% 60%
Commercial/Industrial
Protecting the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir is an important goal for Carroll
County and the rest of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. In order to protect this drinking water
resource, steps have been taken to address problems within the land area draining to the Liberty
Reservoir. The State of Maryland, through the Unified Watershed Assessment process, deemed
Liberty Reservoir the highest priority in need of both protection and restoration. Funding was
then made available to Carroll County to implement a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
(WRAS) that addresses impairments within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed and proposes
solutions to those impairments. The goal of this project was to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for
selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and enhance the water quality of streams draining
to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County, and an assessment of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds.
Liberty Reservoir
Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
Within Carroll County, Maryland
Carroll County
Department of Planning
Bureau of Resource Management
Final Report
March 2003
A Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
for the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County Maryland
A Procedure Established to Assess Watershed Conditions
and Direct Future Watershed Restoration and Protection
Measures
Final Report
March 2003
Carroll County Department of Planning
Bureau of Resource Management
This project was funded in part by the U.S. EPA Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Summary
Protecting the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir is an important goal for Carroll
County and the rest of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. In order to protect this drinking water
resource, steps have been taken to address problems within the land area draining to the Liberty
Reservoir. The State of Maryland, through the Unified Watershed Assessment process, deemed
Liberty Reservoir the highest priority in need of both protection and restoration. Funding was
then made available to Carroll County to implement a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
(WRAS) that addresses impairments within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed and proposes
solutions to those impairments.
The goal of this project was to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for
selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and enhance the water quality of streams draining
to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
within Carroll County, and an assessment of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds.
With the assistance from partner agencies, the Carroll County Water Resource Planning
Division 1) developed a procedure to assess a watershed’s condition, 2) identified threats in that
watershed that reduce the drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir, 3) prioritized those
subwatersheds, and 4) targeted subwatersheds to implement action strategies designed to
improve stream conditions and water quality.
The Water Resource Planning Division selected two watersheds to test the watershed
evaluation procedure: Middle Run and Snowdens Run. Watershed assessments involved
gathering and updating watershed-related information, creating new data layers of information
that did not exist previously, and working cooperatively with DNR staff to collect water quality
information within the selected subwatersheds including visual assessments of stream corridors,
nutrient levels, and biological monitoring information.
The seven action strategies developed to improve watershed conditions with the Middle
Run and Snowdens Run watersheds and ultimately drinking water quality of Liberty Reservoir
are listed below.
Strategy 1: Nutrient Source Tracking Strategy
Strategy 2: Agriculture Best Management Practice Targeting Strategy
Strategy 3: Stormwater Retrofit/Storm Drain Repair Strategy
Strategy 4: Stream Buffer Planting Strategy
Strategy 5: Database Maintenance Strategy
Strategy 6: Establish Watershed Advisory Committees
Strategy 7: County Program Coordination Strategy
The watershed evaluation procedure established and refined during the grant period will
enable Carroll County to target opportunities for improving watershed conditions in the future.
It is important that this evaluation procedure be followed when adequate resources become
available. Limited funding demands that a rigorous and defensible evaluation procedure be
followed prior to implementing watershed restoration measures.
2
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Acknowledgements
Carroll County’s Water Resource Planning Division (WRPD) wishes to acknowledge the
following partner agencies and groups involved during the creation of this Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy.
1. The Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Restoration Division
2. The Reservoir Technical Group of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council
3. The Carroll County Soil Conservation District
4. The Friends of Carroll County Streams
5. Carroll County Department of Public Works
Many individuals contributed significantly to the success of this project. Without the
assistance from Brenda Morgan, the grant coordinator, this project would not have been possible.
Thanks also to the Maryland Conservation Corps’s Echo Lake Crew for conducting the
stream corridor assessments and compiling the data. Thanks also to several members of the
Carroll County Planning Department for enduring long and thorny days collecting stream
corridor assessment information for the West Branch of the Patapsco.
Other County staff members that contributed to this project include: Jeff Keefer, Rose Mann,
Tara Mayers, Nick Patterson, Stan Pennington, and Mike Roberts. Thanks also to Stan Sharkey
for serving as an editor.
Several members of the DNR staff contributed during the data collection and report writing
phases of this project. Those individuals include among others: Steve Czwartacki, Niles
Primrose, Catherine Rappe, Ken Shanks, and Ken Yetman.
Thanks also to Bill Stack, Benton Watson, and Martin Covington for helping to develop the
action strategies.
Although this project is funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency, it does not
necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the EPA.
Comments or questions can be directed to:
Tom Devilbiss [email protected] or Steve Nelson [email protected]
Carroll County Department of Planning
Environment and Resource Protection
Bureau of Resource Management
410-386-2145
3
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
Table of Contents
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 4
I. Introduction............................................................................................................................. 5
II. On-going Efforts within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed..................................................... 8
A. Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement .................................................................. 8
B. SCA within the Cranberry Branch Watershed.................................................................... 9
III. Description of Watersheds Selected for Evaluation ........................................................... 9
IV. Watershed Assessments.................................................................................................... 15
A. Gathering and updating existing information ................................................................... 15
B. Creating new data layers................................................................................................... 17
C. Water Resource Protection Easements ............................................................................. 19
D. Database Integration ......................................................................................................... 19
E. Stream Corridor Assessments........................................................................................... 20
1. Landowner Permission Process .................................................................................... 22
2. Refinements to SCA Data Collection Methods ............................................................ 26
3. Summary of Results...................................................................................................... 26
F. Water Quality Data Collected by DNR Staff.................................................................... 28
V. Watershed Evaluation and Prioritization .............................................................................. 28
A. Watershed Protection and Restoration Opportunities....................................................... 29
1. Middle Run Watershed ................................................................................................. 29
2. Snowdens Run Watershed ............................................................................................ 32
VI. Education and Public Outreach......................................................................................... 36
A. Local Meetings.................................................................................................................. 36
B. SCA educational opportunities ......................................................................................... 37
C. Information Brochure........................................................................................................ 37
VII. Action Strategies............................................................................................................... 37
A. Introduction to Action Strategies...................................................................................... 37
1. Nutrient Source Tracking Strategy ............................................................................... 38
2. Agriculture BMP Targeting Strategy............................................................................ 38
3. Stormwater Retrofit and Storm Drain Repair Strategy................................................. 38
4. Stream Buffer Planting Strategy................................................................................... 39
5. Database Update Strategy............................................................................................. 40
6. Establish Watershed Advisory Committees.................................................................. 40
7. County Program Coordination Strategy........................................................................ 41
B. Monitoring Success........................................................................................................... 41
VIII. Next Steps ......................................................................................................................... 42
IX. References......................................................................................................................... 44
4
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
I. Introduction
This report is a culmination of a three-step process to establish a procedure to 1) identify
impairments to the stream system within a watershed, 2) determine the likely causes to those
impairments, and 3) propose opportunities for restoration and mitigation. The solutions, tailored
to each watershed that is assessed and evaluated, can be interpreted as action strategies, or
grouped together as a watershed management plan. Once established, this procedure will
provide the foundation for future watershed assessment and restoration targeting efforts in
Carroll County.
Carroll County, the City of Baltimore, and the State of Maryland all consider the Liberty
Reservoir Watershed (figure 1) a high priority in need of protection primarily because of its use
as a drinking water supply for the Baltimore Metropolitan area including five surrounding
counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard). In 1998, Maryland's Clean
Water Action Plan identified watersheds across the state in need of protection and restoration.
Initially, a Unified Watershed Assessment characterized the condition of Maryland's larger
watersheds and classified each into the following categories:
Category 1 - Watersheds not meeting clean water and other natural resource goals therefore
needing restoration
Category 2 - Watersheds currently meeting goals that need preventive action to sustain water
quality and aquatic resources
Category 3 - Pristine or sensitive watersheds that need an extra level of protection
As a result, Liberty Reservoir's watershed was classified as both a category 1 and 3;
consequently, it is viewed in need of both restoration and an extra level of protection. After the
Unified Watershed Assessment was completed, restoration priorities were assigned to each
watershed. The Liberty Reservoir watershed received the highest priority for restoration and
protection. Only 17 of the 138 larger watersheds (coded with 8-digits) in Maryland were ranked
as highest priority for both restoration and protection. The last step of the Clean Water Action
Plan was to develop action strategies that identify “the most important causes of water pollution
and resource degradation, detail the actions that all parties need to take to solve those problems,
and set milestones by which to measure progress” (Clean Water Action Plan Technical
Workgroup, 1998). Funding was then made available to Carroll County to develop a Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy.
The first step in the development of a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS)
for Liberty Reservoir was to characterize its watershed. The characterization provides analysis
of existing information for the entire watershed of Liberty Reservoir. Staff from the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with input from the Carroll County Water Resource
Planning Division (WRPD), completed this characterization in September 2002. It summarizes
relevant information related to the Liberty Reservoir Watershed. It also describes the condition
of the watershed from many different perspectives (e.g., water quality, water supply, land use,
living resources). Finally, it identifies sources for additional information and analysis. For
further information, the Liberty Reservoir Watershed Characterization can be found on DNR’s
web site at www.dnr.state.md.us/watersheds/surf/proj/wras.html.
5
LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
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LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
To develop action strategies, a detailed watershed assessment (at a smaller subwatershed
scale) is necessary to identify the impairments and their probable causes. To accomplish this
goal, WRPD with assistance of DNR, gathered watershed-related information, updated
databases, and collected new information necessary to accurately assess the health or condition
of the stream system within subwatersheds. County staff could not perform the detailed
assessments necessary for the entire Liberty Reservoir Watershed during the one-year grant
period; therefore, WRPD evaluated available water quality monitoring data from the City of
Baltimore and selected two subwatersheds to initially investigate and focused on developing an
assessment and evaluation procedure.
After the watershed assessments were completed, information gathered was combined
and evaluated to identify opportunities to improve watershed conditions. WRPD accomplished
this phase in two steps. First, WRPD identified likely causes to the stream impairments
discovered during the assessment phase. Next, WRPD identified opportunities or action
strategies within each selected subwatershed to address causes of watershed degradation and
protect existing natural resources.
The goal of this project, as stated in the original scope, was to develop a Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) for selected subwatersheds designed to maintain and
enhance the water quality of streams draining to Liberty Reservoir. It will be based on a
characterization of the Liberty Reservoir Watershed within Carroll County, and an assessment
of stream corridors for the selected subwatersheds. A few of the objectives to accomplish this
goal are included here:
• Direct the development of the watershed characterization for Liberty Reservoir
• Conduct stream corridor assessments within selected subwatersheds
• Develop action strategies within the selected subwatersheds based upon likely water
quality concerns identified during the assessment that will identify causes of water
quality degradation, prioritize types of impairment, and identify sources of funding and
technical assistance.
• Identify opportunities to interact with landowners, citizen organizations, and other
governmental agencies for the purposes of engaging cooperators and stakeholders as
appropriate during the development and implementation of the WRAS.
DNR awarded Carroll County Government this grant in November 2001, but because of
numerous delays, actual work did not begin until March 2002. Work related to the grant was
completed in March 2003. WRPD was the primary responsible party; however, DNR’s
Watershed Restoration Division collected much of the water quality data used during the
assessment phase of the process. To create the Liberty Reservoir WRAS, WRPD depended on
cooperation from partner agencies. Assistance from many DNR agencies, the Carroll’s Soil
Conservation District, the Friends of Carroll County Streams, the City of Baltimore’s
Department of Public Works, the Reservoir Technical Group, and other county agencies all
contributed to the success of this project, and it will be required for future implementation
phases.
WRPD used the grant funding primarily to hire a WRAS coordinator. Given the time and
staff constraints, the WRAS coordinator’s role was crucial to the success of this project. The
coordinator’s major duties included updating and creating databases used to assess the condition
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LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
of the watershed, coordinating and managing three Stream Corridor Assessments (SCAs), and
developing GIS data layers and maps.
There are eight sections of this report. After this brief introduction, Section Two reviews
previous work related to watershed protection within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed. Section
Three describes the watersheds used to develop the watershed assessment step in the process.
Section Four describes the methods used to assess the watersheds selected. Section Five
describes the data analysis procedure developed to determine the likely causes of stream
impairments, and then it illustrates how the selected subwatersheds were prioritized. Section Six
identifies educational opportunities already realized and in the future. Section Seven discusses
the action strategies developed as solutions to the likely causes of stream impairments identified.
Section Eight discusses next steps that the WRPD will take to begin implementing the Action
Strategies developed.
II. On-going Efforts within the Liberty Reservoir Watershed
A. Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement
In 1984, the Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement was created to protect water
quality of the three reservoirs (Loch Raven, Liberty, and Pretty Boy) owned and operated by the
City of Baltimore. The agreement was signed by the City, surrounding counties (including
Carroll), and regional and state agencies; it was recently reaffirmed in February 2003 with the
endorsement of the current Board of Carroll County Commissioners. According to the 2000
Action Report for the Reservoir Watersheds (Baltimore Metropolitan Council, 2000), the
agreement established “a voluntary, cooperative Reservoir Watershed Protection Program and an
Action Strategy designed to improve water quality in the reservoirs and in its feeder streams.
Focused on the twin goals for reducing phosphorus and sediment, the Action Strategy outlined
specific action steps by each participating organization leading toward achievement of the
Agreement’s goals.”
During the WRAS process, it was WRPD’s desire to complement this on-going regional
effort of reservoir protection. The Action Reports contain recommendations for future work
activities needed to enhance reservoir watershed protection efforts. By completing this WRAS,
the following work activities have been partially addressed for the Liberty Reservoir Watershed:
• Improve tracking of best management practice (BMP) locations. WRPD has developed
GIS data layers and maps showing specific locations of urban and agricultural BMPs.
• Reduce the dissolved phosphorus loads to the reservoir. Targeting stream buffer
plantings in subwatersheds with elevated nutrient load estimates will in-part address this
need.
• Target high priority areas for implementing agricultural BMPs through the subwatershed
assessment and evaluation process.
• Evaluate increasing trends in nutrient and chloride levels within the reservoir. Implement
the strategy to investigate sources of nutrient inputs to the reservoir will address this
need.
• Improve public awareness. Conducting the Stream Corridor Assessments provided many
opportunities for outreach and education. Developing an educational brochure will also
improve public awareness of important watershed concepts.
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LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
B. SCA within the Cranberry Branch Watershed
DNR performed a SCA in 2000 (McCoy, 2000) in cooperation with the City of
Westminster, MDE, and Carroll County to determine likely causes of taste and odor problems of
the source water entering Westminster’s drinking water treatment plant. The Cranberry Branch
Watershed is located near the headwaters of the West Branch of the Patapsco River. Results
from this assessment were used by MDE in part to fulfill U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
requirements for a Source Water Assessment. The Cranberry Branch watershed is one of two
watersheds that the City extracts surface water to supply the residents. The other watershed, the
main stem of the West Branch of the Patapsco (also referred to as the Hull Branch) was not
assessed at that time. The SCA performed during the WRAS process for the entire West Branch
of the Patapsco River complements the existing information and will help to complete their
Source Water Assessment.
III. Description of Watersheds Selected for Evaluation
WRPD selected two watersheds to initially develop the assessment and prioritization
process: Middle Run (1056) and Snowdens Run (1046) (figure 2). WRPD selected Middle Run
because of elevated pollutant loads derived from water sampling performed by the City of
Baltimore. WRPD compared pollutant loads for each of Liberty’s watersheds where data exist
and when divided by watershed size, Middle and Bonds Run (two of the smallest) had the
highest pollutant loads to the reservoir. WRPD also selected the Snowdens Run watershed for a
more detailed watershed assessment. Historically, not much information has been collected
about this suburban watershed located within the community of Eldersburg. In addition,
Snowdens Run is located in close proximity to the water treatment plant intakes for the City and
County. Table 1 compares the size of the major watersheds draining to the reservoir within
Carroll County.
Table 1. Comparison of watersheds draining to Liberty Reservoir within Carroll County.
Watershed Name Land Area (square miles) Rank
Bonds Run 7.1 7
Beaver Run 14.3 3
Little Morgan Run 8.6 4
Morgan Run 28.9 2
Middle Run 8.4 5
Snowdens Run 8.0 6
North Branch of the Patapsco 41.6 1
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LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
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LIBERTY RESERVOIR WATERSHED RESTORATION ACTION STRATEGY
The Middle Run watershed is located in the south-central part of Carroll County. The
boundary or drainage divide for this watershed is Route 32 to the south and Deer Park Road to
the north. There are four roads that completely cross this watershed including (from north to
south) Bird View Road, Niner Road, Gamber Road (Route 91) and Louisville Road. The size of
this watershed is about 5,400 acres or 8.4 square miles. It comprises slightly more than 6% of
the Liberty Reservoir watershed and less than 2% of the County’s land area (figure 3 ).
Agriculture is the dominant land use within this rural watershed (55%). Residential
development is the next largest land use category (about 33%); it is mostly confined to the Route
32 and Deer Park Road corridors north of Route 91. Most of the residential land use is made up
of single-family homes served exclusively by private well and septic systems. About 7% of
Middle Run’s land area is publicly owned. The City of Baltimore owns almost all of the public
land, and it is concentrated in the southern portion of the watershed near the reservoir. Carroll
County owns a small park located at the top of the watershed called Deer Park; it is located near
the intersections of Route 32 and Deer Park Roads. The road network comprises about 3% of
this watershed. Forest covers approximately 21% of the land area largely concentrated near
Liberty Reservoir on City of Baltimore property and along stream valleys in the central portions
of the watershed. Almost 29 miles of streams receive runoff from this watershed.
Refer to Table 2 for a comparison of the major land uses for both of the study
subwatersheds, Liberty Reservoir’s watershed and the county land area. Note that Middle Run’s
land use distribution closely matches that of Liberty Reservoir.
Table 2. Major land use categories within Carroll County and selected watersheds
Land Use Category Middle Run
Watershed
Snowdens Run
Watershed
Liberty
Reservoir
Watershed
Carroll
County
Agriculture 55% 15% 53% 60%
Commercial/Industrial