Adopt-A-Stream

The Adopt-A-Stream Program allows local groups (civic associations, scout troops, church and synagogue groups, school groups, local businesses, neighbors, families, etc.) to get directly involved in improving local water quality by "adopting" one or more stream segments within Rockville.  The Adopting Group agrees to hold two stream cleanup events per year (usually, one in the spring and one in the fall).  The City of Rockville will provide trash bags, gloves, and other materials and will collect all of the debris from the cleanup once you're finished.  The Adopting Group can also choose to get involved with water quality monitoring, illicit discharge monitoring, trash monitoring and other activities along their stream segment.

• Why Adopt a Stream in Rockville?
• Which Stream Segments in Rockville Are Available for Adoption?
• We Found a Stream We Would Like to Adopt!  What's Next?
• Adopt-A-Stream Documents
• Other Activities Available for Adopting Groups
• Questions?

Why Adopt A Stream in Rockville?
The heart of the Adopt-A-Stream program is about facilitating stream cleanups along Rockville streams.  Trash is a serious problem for Rockville's watersheds.  Trash and other pollutants travel from streets and parking lots through storm drains and into our local creeks.  The trash accumulates in the waterways, negatively affecting their aesthetics and our enjoyment of the stream valleys, as well as contributing to decreased water quality levels and endangering certain types of wildlife.  Even a small group of volunteers can remove large amounts of debris from streams in a short period of time.  Most stream cleanups take about three hours (Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to Noon, and Sundays, from Noon to 3 p.m., are popular times to hold stream cleanups).  This activity is appropriate for all ages, and is a great way to get involved with helping not only your local environment, but also the downstream Potomac and Chesapeake Bay.

Which Stream Segments in Rockville Are Available for Adoption?
Adoptable stream segments are shown on the map below.  Each of Rockville's three watersheds have segments for adoption.  There are twenty-three segments within the Watts Branch watershed, ten in the Cabin John Creek watershed and eleven in the Rock Creek watershed.  These segments are labeled sequentially for each watershed: for example, there are segments WB-1 through WB-23; CJ-1 through CJ-10; and RC-1 through RC-11.

Click on the map above to see a more detailed picture of the adoptable stream segments in a particular area.  You can also look at the entire list of all forty-four adoptable stream segments.  If you live near a stream that does not appear available for adoption, it may be located on private property.  If the property owners are interested in adopting their own stream, or allowing others to do so, we can supply cleanup materials - just let us know!

Download the detailed Adopt-A-Stream map (pdf).

Adopt-A-Stream
City of Rockville
30 Courthouse Square, Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20850

Once we have received the application, we will contact the Designated Representative of the group to schedule your first cleanup and work out the details of providing you with materials and specifying a location for the City to pick up the cleanup debris.   Each member of the Adopting Group will also need to sign a release form - this can be done on the day of the group's first cleanup.

Adopt-A-Stream Documents
For more information about the program, or to fill out an application form to join the program:

• Adopt-A-Stream General Program Conditions
• Adopt-A-Stream Safety Guidelines
• Adopt-A-Stream Application and Agreement
• Adopt-A-Stream Release Form

Other Activities Available for Adopting Groups
Beyond stream cleanups, there are other activities that Adopting Groups can participate in to help create a cleaner, healthier environment.  Some examples of other activities are benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) monitoring, performing illicit discharge / pollution and stormwater outfall monitoring, conducting stream surveys, applying storm drain markers to the storm drains in your subwatershed, installing a trash "litter skimmer" and/or performing "trash monitoring" of the stream, invasive species removal, gathering native tree seeds for later replanting, and more.  Contact us for more information.

Questions?
If you have any questions about the Adopt-A-Stream Program, or to schedule a stream cleanup, please e-mail or call the Environmental Management Division at 240-314-8872.  Thanks!