Deep Creek Lake Tributary Bioassessment

During July 2022, a team from PennWest – California and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources conducted a synoptic bioassessment of 29 perennial Deep Creek Lake tributaries at sites selected by the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation. Most stations were established as close to the lake confluence as accessible. The team obtained water samples, assessed fish and macroinvertebrate communities, and performed habitat evaluations. Four stations exhibited flows too low to permit fish or macroinvertebrate collection. Here only water samples were taken.

Three stations were accessed via boat. Overall, results describe cool water streams that exhibit measurable total alkalinity and generally possess good chemical water quality. However, poor habitat, including siltation and embedded stream bottoms, resulted in low macroinvertebrate and fish abundance.

This study serves as a preliminary baseline against which future monitoring and mitigation efforts of Deep Creek Lake tributaries may be evaluated. This study aims to identify potential projects that the Foundation can undertake to preserve and protect the watershed. The contract amount for this work is $13,125. The project partially fulfills Goal 3 of the Watershed Management Plan. We are working with DNR to identify new projects from the collected data.