Stream Corridor Assessment

The Stream Corridor Assessment (SCA) survey was developed by Maryland DNR's Watershed Restoration Division as a tool to help environmental managers identify environmental problems and prioritize restoration opportunities on a watershed basis. As part of the survey, trained personnel walk the watershed's entire stream network and record information on a variety of environmental problems that can be easily observed within the stream corridor. Common environmental problems documented in the survey include:

• eroding stream banks
• inadequate stream buffers
• exposed pipes
• altered stream channels
• fish migration barriers
• pipe outfalls
• instream construction sires
• trash dumping locations

Each of these terms are officially defined in the State of Maryland’s SCA Survey Protocols document available for download from Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, Watershed Restoration Division.

Download the Google Earth files to see the potential problems in a geographical manner specific to different tributaries.  AWS encourages citizens to visit listed sites to see environmental damage firsthand. Since stream banks change constantly, the features you see may differ from pictures shown in our report or on our map. 

Sligo Creek SCA

AWS made Sligo Creek Reports for selected problems and used them to advocate for sewer system upgrade.  Those brief reports were used for our advocacy highly effectively.

• Google Earth map coming soon
• Download Sligo Creek Reports

 3/30/04 report
 4/07/04 report
 4/22/04 report
 4/23/04 report
 4/28/04 report

Northwest Branch SCA

• Google Earth map coming soon

Paint and Little Paint Branch SCA

• Google Earth map coming soon