2010 rockymarsh run baseline assessment

8/6/2019 2010 Rockymarsh Run Baseline Assessment

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ROCKYMARSH RUN WATERSHED

BASELINE ASSESSMENT

AND MANAGEMENT PLAN

2010

Rockymarsh Run Targeted Watershed Project

Meeting Regional Goals through Local Benefits (WV) (2007-0082-007)

PARTNERSCountyCommissionofJeffersonCounty,WV

JeffersonCountyPublicServiceDistrictTroutUnlimited

USGSWestVirginiaWaterScienceCenterWestVirginiaUniversity

WestVirginiaWaterResearchInstituteRegionIXRegionalPlanningandDevelopmentCouncil

11February2011


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CONTRIBUTORSMichaelSchwartzLukeKeenerKataRishelJoeHankins

KarenSchroyerChristineMarshall

SusanGlennSusanClements

FredFordScottTsukudaToddPettyMariyaSchilz


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WatershedDescription

PhysicalCharacter

BasinCharacteristics

RockymarshRunwatershedstraddlesthenorthernboundarybetweenBerkeleyandJefferson

countiesofWestVirginia(MapA1). ThewatershedistributarytothePotomacRiver,which

flowsintotheChesapeakeBay. The16.9squaremilesurfacedrainagebasinofRockymarsh

Run islongandnarrow,about9mileslongand2mileswide,generallyfollowingthegeologic

strikeoftheareafromSSWtoNNE. Thegradientofthebasinisquitelow.Overthe16milesof

flowingwaterinthewatershed,thechangeinelevationisamere215feet. Thestreamdrops

about50feetintheupper3milesoftheheadwaters,thenonceitreachesBillmyerMillRoadit

dropsabout25feetpermileuntilitreachesScrabble. AtBillmyerMillRoadthestreamdrops

12feetrightafteritcrossesundertheroad.OnceRockymarshRunreachesScrabbleitdrops60feetforthelastmilebeforeitdischargesintothePotomacRiver. Thissteepdroptowardsthe

mouthofthewatershedresultsinanaquatichabitatthatismuchrockierwithfastflowing

waterasopposedtotheslowmovingwaterswithsiltybottomstypifyingtheremainderofthe

watershed.

Climate

Theclimateoftheareaistemperatewithanaverageannualtemperatureof54andagrowing

seasonthatrunssixmonthsfrommidAprilthroughmidOctober. Averageannual

precipitationfortheareais39.4inchesandpotentialannualevapotranspirationis28.9inches

leavingasurplusforrunoffandrechargeof10.5inches.

LocalclimatedataisrecordedcontinuouslyatWestVirginiaUniversitysKearneysville

AgriculturalExperimentstationandcollectionofprecipitationandsoiltemperaturedatawas

initiatedattheFreshwaterInstituteonTurnerRoadinthesummerof2008.

Geology

Theentirewatershedischaracterizedbykarsttopographywithitsattendantsinkholes,springs,

closeddepressions,disappearingstreams,andcomplexundergrounddrainagesystems(MapA

2). Karstisalandscapethatisaresultoftheinterplayofwaterwithcarbonatebasedrocks

(suchaslimestoneanddolomite)wheretherocksaredissolvedbywaterovermillionsofyears.

Thisprocessresultsinaveryporouslandscapedistinguishedbyapredominantlysubsurface

drainagesystemwheregroundwatervelocitiesandvolumesapproachthoseofsurfacestreams.

Becauserechargewaterentersthegrounddirectlythroughopenfractures,faults,andbedding

planesaswellasthroughkarstfeaturessuchassinkholesandcloseddepressions,thesystemis

veryvulnerabletocontaminationsincethiswaterreceiveslittletonofiltrationbysoil.


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Effectively,alargepartofthehydrologyofthewatershedoperatesunderground. Thetypeof

karstinRockymarshRunisepikarst,orimmaturekarst. Epikarstischaracterizedbypinnacles

ofrockformationslyingontheirsidesthatmayormaynotbeexposed,coveredbyboth

shallowanddeepsoils.Maturekarstisthebarerockleftafterallthesoilcoveringthatrockis

wornaway. Thus,geologyinformstheverynatureofRockymarshRunasthekarstaquifer

systemprovides theprimarysourceofwatertoitsstreams.

ThewatershediscompletelyunderlainbythreecarbonateformationsConococheague,

Stonehenge,andRockdaleRun. Themajorityofthewatershediscomprisedofthe

Conococheagueformationintheeasterntwothirdsofthewatershedwithmostofthe

remainderintheStonehengeformation. TheRockdaleRunformationunderliesonlyasmall

portionofthewatershedintheareawestofGoslingMarshRoadalongSwanPondRoad.

Thesesedimentarycarbonaterockswereformedfromsedimentsdepositedintheshallowsea

thatoncecoveredtheareaovera200millionyearperiodstartingabout540millionyearsago.

Infact,thereisarelictmarinespeciesfromthaterastillfoundintheareatheMadisonCave

Isopod,thatnowlivesinthegroundwater,havingadaptedtolivinginfreshwater. Theoldest

formationistheConococheaguefollowedbytheStonehenge,withtheyoungestbeingtheRockdaleRunformation. PriortothetectonicactivityoftheAlleghenianOrogeny,these

formationslayontopofeachother,everywhereyoufindConococheaguelimestoneitwasonce

coveredbyStonehengewhichwasoncecoveredbyRockdaleRun. Thecurrentlandscapeof

theareawasformedbyerosionoftheserocksthatwerefaultedandfoldedduringthelast

periodoftectonicactivitytheAlleghenianOrogeny,whenAfricacollidedwithNorthAmerica.

Geologicallyspeaking,thewatershedlieswithintheeasternsideoftheMassanutten

SynclinoriumwithintheGreatValleyoftheValleyandRidgegeomorphicprovince.

TheAlleghenianOrogenyresultedinacomplexlyfracturedlandscapeoffaultsandfolds,asis

foundinthewatershed. Therearethreetypesoffaultsfoundinthewatershed:normal,strike

slip,andthrust. Thrustfaultsaretheprimarydriverforthelandscapeofthewatershedasthey

representplaceswheregeologicformationswerethrustupwards. Strikeslipfaultsarewherea

formationwasshiftedfromsidetoside.Normalfaultsarewheretherockslippeddownwards.

OnemajorstrikeslipfaultcutsacrossbothforksofRockymarshRun,parallelingWinebrenners

Road,andcrossingRt.45.

TherearethreethrustfaultzonesrunningalongthegeologicstrikeofN20E,thatdividethe

watershedintofourgeologicunits. Theeasternmostthrustfaultformsthewesternedgeofa

beltmostlycomprisedConococheaguelimestone. Thisthrustfaultappearstobethesourceof

thelargestspringsinthewatershedwherethisfaultcrossesthestreamchannel. Thenext

thrustfaulttothewestformsanotherzoneofmostlyConococheaguelimestonewithsome

Stonehengelimestonetotheeast. Thewesternmostthrustfaultformsaboundarybetween

theRockdaleRunformationtothewestandanalmostpuresectionofStonehengewithsome

outcropsofConococheagueinthesouthernsection.

Therearenumerousfoldsintheformofanticlinesandsynclinesaswellasoverturnedanticlines

andsynclines. Thelandscapewastrulycrushed,flipped,folded,andflippedrepeatedly.Most

ofthefoldsinthewatershedoccurintheeasternmostConococheagueformation. This


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structurallyandhydraulicallycomplexsystemofsteeplydippingrockformationsandthe

convolutedfoldingandfaultingofanticlinesandsynclinesgenerallyrunningnorthandsouth

limitgroundwaterflowtotheeastandwestexceptwherecrossstrikefaultsandfractures

occur.

AnothergeologicfeatureprominentinthegeologyofRockymarshRunarefracturetraces.

Thesearevisibletracesofpasttectonicactivityonthelandscapethatindicatefracturezones

underground. Therearetwotypes:StrikeandCrossStrike. Strikefracturetracesgenerally

followthegeologicstrikeoftheareawhileCrossStrikefracturetracesaregenerally

perpendiculartogeologicstrike. Crossstrikefracturetracesareparticularlyinfluentialin

regardstogroundwaterflowastheyallowgroundwatertoflowthroughbeddingplanes.

Certainareasofthewatershedwherefracturetraceshavebeennotedarealsoknowntobe

areasofhighwatertables,andwheregroundwatersometimesflowsoutofthegroundduring

extremewetperiods. Springsareoftenfoundincloseproximitytofracturetracesaswell.

Awarenessofgeologyinkarstlandscapeshelpsfromanunderstandingofthecomplexnature

ofkarsthydrology. Knowingthelocationsofthrustfaults,crossstrikefaults,fracturetraces,andoverturnedfoldscanprovidecluestothelocationofundergroundconduitsandcaverns

(areasofhighgroundwaterflow). Forinstance,overturnedfoldscontainnumerousstructural

complexitiesandfracturesthatprovideavenuesforsubstantialflowofgroundwater.

Soils

Character

Soilsareclassifiedbyseriesandmapunits. Asoilseriesisagroupofsoilsgroupedtogether

becauseoftheirsimilarparentmaterial,soilchemistry,andphysicalproperties. This

classificationofsoilsresultsinserieswhichperformsimilarlyforthepurposesoflanduse.Map

unitscanbecomplexesofdifferentsoilseriesorjustdifferentvariationsofthesameseries,

oftenbrokendownbyslopeortexture.Amapunitisusedinasoilsurveytoindicatethepropertiesofasoilorsoilassociationataparticularlocation.

Distributionofsoiltypesacrossalandscapeisstronglydrivenbyparentmateriale.g.limestone

andlandscapeposition,e.g.uplandandlowland. Almostallofthesoilsinthewatershedare

derivedfromlimestoneexcepttheFairplayandLappansseries. Bothoftheseseriesarederived

frommarl. Thus,landscapepositionistheprimarydriverofsoildistributioninthewatershed.

Soilsinthehighestlandscapepositionsoftencontainexposedrockoutcrops,andaretypically

thinnerthanthoselowerinthelandscape. Rockoutcropcomplexescoverabout6squaremiles

ofthewatershed,aboutathirdofthetotalwatershedarea. Drainagetypicallyimprovesasyou

moveupthelandscapefromthelowlands.

ThemostcommonsoilseriesinthewatershedareHagerstown,Vertrees,Poplimento,

Funkstown,Lappans,Toms,Fairplay,andDuffield(MapA3). Therearetwootherfairly

commonsoilseries,RyderandOpequon,that occurincomplexeswithPoplimentoand

Hagerstown. TheHagerstownseriescoversalmosthalfofthewatershed,followedbyVertrees

andPoplimento,whichalltogethercover75%ofthewatershed. Thesedominantsoiltypesare


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allfoundinuplandsituations. ThemostcommonlowlandsoiltypesareLappans,Toms,and

Fairplay. Alloftheuplandsoilsarewelldrained,exceptforFunkstown,whichismoderately

welldrained.Ofthelowlandsoils,onlyLappansiswelldrained,however,Lappanshasahigh

watertableandtendstohavewaterpondingduringthewetseason,causingittoreceivea

hydricrating,asdoLappans,Toms,andFunkstown. Threeothersoilseriesthatarefoundin

onlysmallareasofthewatershedarealsohydric:Combs,Dunning,andHolly. Hydricsoilsare

soilsformedunderconditionsofsaturation,flooding,orpondinglongenoughtodevelop

anaerobicconditionsintheirupperlayers.

Limitations

Therockynatureandflatkarsttopographyofthewatershedresultinsoillimitationsthat

primarilyrelatetogroundwatervulnerability.Oneoftheprimesoillimitationsinthewatershed

isfortheuseofsoilstodisposeofsepticsystemeffluent. Septicsystemsrelyonsoilforthe

treatmentanddrainageofthewastewaterthatleavesthetank,thusthecapabilityofthesoilis

veryimportantintermsofmaintainingenvironmentalqualityandpublichealth. Furthermore,

thesoiltreatsallofthewastewaterinRockymarshRunwatershed. Aspartofthesoilsurvey

processallsoilsareratedaccordingtotheirpotentialuses,suchasthedisposalofwastewaterfromsepticsystems. Theratingsforsepticsystemsarebasedonthepropertiesofthesoilthat

affectpublichealth,constructionandmaintenanceofthesystem,andabsorptionofthe

effluentfromtheseptictank.Almostathirdoftheareaofthewatershedisclassifiedasvery

limited,andtwothirdsasmoderatelylimited. Asoilthatisclassifiedasmoderately

limitedforsepticsystemsmeansthatthesoilhasfeaturesthataremoderatelyfavorablefor

usesepticsystemsandthelimitationsofthesoilcanbeovercomeorminimizedthroughspecial

planningordesign. Thislimitationalsoindicatesthatfairperformanceandmoderate

maintenancecanbeexpected. Theclassificationofverylimitedmeansthatthesoilhasone

ormorefeaturesthatrenderitunfavorableforuseasasepticsystem. Thelimitationsofthese

soilscannotgenerallybesurmountedwithoutmajorsoilmodification,specialdesign,orcostly

installationprocedures. Systemsinstalledinthesesoilscanexpecthighmaintenanceandpoor

performance. Themostcommonseverelimitationsareslowpercolation,depthtobedrock,

rockoutcrops,highwatertable,andflooding.

Theseverysamesoillimitationsalsoaffecthowotherlandusessuchasdevelopmentand

agricultureaffectthewatershedasthesoilsallprovidelimitedfiltrationofthepollutants

producedbytheselandusesbeforetheyreachsurfaceorgroundwater. Theothersignificant

soillimitationinthewatershedisthatofhydricsoils. Hydricsoilsinthelowlandsof

RockymarshRunmakeup16%ofthewatershedarea. Thesesoilsarebestsuitedfortheir

originaluseaswetlands. Theircloseproximitytosurfaceandgroundwaterrendersthemvery

susceptibletopollution.

Ecology

Thelimestonegeologyofthewatershedformsthefoundationforitscharacteristicecosystems

throughitsaffectontheplantandanimalcommunitiesthatformthebasisofthese

ecosystems. ThisgeologygeneratesthesoilshighinpH,withabundantcalciumandfertility,


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thecoldwatersrichwithmarl,andthecavernsoftheundergroundworld.Manyoftheplants

andanimalsinRockymarshareadaptedtotheseuniqueconditions.

AquaticEcology

TheaquaticecosystemofRockymarshRunischaracterizedbycoldwatertemperaturesand

marl. Thecoldwatertemperaturesareaproductofthehighproportionofgroundwater

dischargedintoRockymarshRun,primarilyfromsprings.Whenacidicrainwaterdissolves

limestoneitproducescarbondioxideasoneofthebyproductsoftheprocess.While

underground,thehighcarbondioxidelevelskeepthewateracidicandthelimestone,or

calciumcarbonate,dissolved.Oncethegroundwaterisdischargedtothesurface,most

commonlythroughaspring,variousphysicalandbiologicalprocessesdecreasetheamountof

carbondioxideinthewater,causingthedissolvedcalciumcarbonatetoprecipitatebackinto

solidform.Oncethecalciumcarbonateprecipitates,itiscalledmarl. Ittypicallytakesamileor

sodownstreamfromaspringforthecarbondioxidetoreachlowenoughlevelsformarlto

begintoform. Thesestretchesofstreamappearchalkyormilkyformallofthemarl. The

stretchesupstreamfromtheseareasareveryclear.

Thelargeamountsofmarlcoveringthestreambottomlimitstheamountofaquaticlifethat

RockymarshRuncanmaintain.Whilesomefishspeciesthatliveinwarmwaterlivein

Rockymarshrun,mostofthefishspeciesthatlivethereprefercoldwater. Theareaaround

springsincludesanabundanceofplants,suchaswatercress,thatlovethecalciumrichwaters

emergingfromthesesprings.

GroundwaterEcology

ThekarstificationofRockymarshslimestonebedrockhascreatedfloodedunderground

cavernsthatarehometouniquecommunitiesofsubterraneananimals. Theseanimals,known

asstygobites,aredependentoninputsoffoodfromthesurfaceofthelandandaresensitiveto

groundwaterpollution. Changesingroundwaterrechargepatternscausedbylanddisturbance

canalsodeprivethemoftheirmostimportantneedwater(aswellasfood). Thus,these

animalsarethelocalsentinelsofgroundwaterquality. Becauseoftheinherentlackofaccessto

thesecommunities,notmuchisknownaboutthetypesandhabitsofanimalsthatlive

underground.WhatisknownisthateasternWestVirginiaisabiodiversityhotspotforthese

rareandunusualanimals. Becausesubterraneanspeciessufferfromtheattitudeoutofsight,

outofmindtheyareoftenneglectedindecisionsconcerningconservationandland

management. TheextremelylimiteddistributionofthesespeciesintheU.S.hascausedthem

tobelistedasspeciesingreatestneedofconservationinWestVirginia.Oneofthesespecies,

theMadisonCaveIsopod,isfederallylistedasthreatened. TheMadisonCaveIsopodisnot

currentlyknowntoliveinthewatershed,buthasbeenfoundnearby. Becauseoflimitedaccess

totheirhabitat,itisverydifficulttodeterminethepresenceorabsenceofthesespecies. There

aresevenspeciesofstygobitesthathavebeenfoundinBerkeleyandJeffersoncounties.

TerrestrialEcology

PriortoEuropeansettlement,thewatershedwasdominatedbyuplandforest,withalluvial

forestandmarshesoccurringalongthewaterways. Theclimaxuplandforestcommunityfor

thewatershedistheRidgeandValleyLimestoneOakHickoryForest. Ascanbenotedfromthe


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name,thisforestisanassemblageoftreescharacteristictothecarbonaterocksubstratesand

calcareoussoilsoftheValleyandRidgeprovince.Whiletherearematurestandsofthisforest

inthewatershed,itisunlikelythatanyvirginstandsremain. Fewhighqualityoccurrencesof

thiscommunityexistandmoststandshavebeendisturbedbyclearing,cutting,and/orgrazing.

Thefertilesoilsoccupiedbythisforesttypeareparticularlypronetoinvasionbyexoticplants,

whosepresencedegradesthequalityofthestand.

Thelandscapeischaracterizedbyahistoricdisturbanceregimeofclearingforagricultureand

residentialdevelopment. Thisdisturbanceregimehascreatedavenuesforinvasionbya

multitudeofexoticplantssuchasTreeofHeaven,BushHoneysuckles,AutumnOlive,

MultifloraRose,Wineberry,GarlicMustard,JapaneseStiltgrass,andJapaneseHoneysuckle.

Earlysuccessionalforestsofcedar,blacklocust,andboxelderarefoundaswellthroughoutthe

watershedinareasthatwerepreviouslyclearedandthenabandoned. Incertainareasofthe

watershedthereisnaturalforestregenerationcurrentlyoccurringintheriparianzone.

PlantCommunityTypes

RidgeandValleyLimestoneOakHickoryForestPiedmont/MountainAlluvialForest

ShenandoahValleyWetPrairie

SuccessionalBlackLocustWoodland

SuccessionalBoxElderWoodland

EasternRedCedarWoodland

DominantWoodyPlants

LargeTrees VariousOak,Maple,Hickory,andAshspecies,Sycamore,Hackberry,

TulipPoplar,BlackWalnut,EasternRedCedar

SmallTreesandShrubs Redbud,SmoothBlackhaw,Dogwood,PawPaw,and

Spicebush

WetlandEcology

Thedistinctcharacterofthewatershediscapturedinitsveryname Rockymarsh. The

extensivemarshesofRockymarsh,knownlocallyasmarlwetlandsorclassifiedasShenandoah

ValleyWetPrairies,aredistinguishedbythepresenceofmarlloamsoilsandtheuniqueplant

communitiesassociatedwiththesesoils. Itisthoughtthatthesewetlandsonceextendedover

almost700acresalongthefloodplain. Today,only92acresofthesewetlandsremain. Someof

theselostwetlandswereminedformarlwhilemostwereeitherfilledin,convertedtocropland,

orusedforpasture.Wetlandsthathavebeenusedforagriculturemightstillhavethepotential

toreverttoanaturalwetland. Youcanspottheseformerwetlandsbytheremnantwetland

plantsthatarestillgrowingthere.

Marlisadepositofcalciumcarbonatemixedwithsmallamountsofclayandorganicmatter.

MarldepositsintheGreatValleyaretypicallyfoundinwetlandsorwithinshallowbasinsthat

originallycontainedwetlands. Thesewetlandscontainanumberofrarespeciesuniquely

adaptedtothecalciumrichsoil. Thereare12speciesofplantsinWestVirginiafoundonlyin


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marlwetlands. BerkeleyandJeffersoncountiescontaintheonlymarlwetlandsfoundinWest

Virginia.WhiletherearesomemarldepositsinthewatershedupstreamfromRt.45the

majorityofthemarelocateddownstreamfromRt.45.

PlantscommonlyfoundinthesewetlandsareBulrushes,Sedges,JoePyeWeed,andNewYork

Ironweed.Alloftherarespeciesinthewatershedarefoundinwetlandsordependonthemfor

partoftheirlifecycle.

GreenInfrastructure

AgreeninfrastructureassessmentofJeffersonCountywasperformedin2006. Thepurposeof

theassessmentwastoidentifythenaturalresourceareasrequiredforsustainability,andto

connecttheseareastogetherintoagreeninfrastructurenetwork. Theresultingnetworkis

usedtoinformlandusedecisionsandtoidentifyopportunitiesforconservation,enhancement,

andrestorationofnaturalresources. Theassessmentidentifiedcoreforestandriparianareas

alongwithcorridorsthatconnecttheseareasintoacohesivenetwork. Coreforestswerethose

atleast100acresinsize,containingatleast10acresofinteriorforestandmeetingoneofthe

followingcriteria: containedmatureforest;containedrareorthreatenedspecies;overlaida

sourcewaterprotectionarea;oroverlaidacoregroundwaterrechargearea. Coreaquaticareaswerecreatedbyaddinga100ftbuffertoallstreams,floodplains,andwetlands. Corridors600

ftwideweremappedusingacrossnondevelopedlandusestoconnectthesecorestogether.

Coreforestinthewatershedcovers1,746acresor71%oftheforestintheentirewatershed.

Coreaquaticareascover1,019acreswhilecorridorsconnectingthesecoreforestandaquatic

areascoveranadditional1,247acrescreatingtotalgreeninfrastructureareaof4,012acres.

RareandThreatenedSpecies

Alloftherarespeciesfoundinthewatershedeitherliveinwetlandsoraredependentonthem

atsomeperiodintheirlifecycle. Thereisonereptile,theWoodTurtle,andsixplants:Water

Horsetail,FloatingPennywort,BalticRush,WaterSmartweed,HardStemmedBulrush,and

MarshSkullcap. Alloftheplantsarefoundinwetlands. TheWoodTurtlewintersinstreams,

breedsinwetlands,andspendstherestoftheyearinwetlandoruplandhabitat.Otherrare

speciesbesidesthesehavebeenfoundinsimilarhabitatsinJeffersonCountyandmaylivein

thewatershedbutjusthaventbeendiscoveredyet. Characteristicsoftherarespecies

occurringinthewatershedcanbefoundinAppendixB.

Whiletherearecurrentlynoknownfederallylistedthreatenedorendangeredspeciesinthe

watershed,theMadisonCaveIsopod,afederallythreatenedspecies,hasbeenfoundnearbyin

JeffersonCountyandcouldliveinthewatershed,giventhenatureofpotentialhabitat.

Hydrology

DrainageNetwork

Theporousnatureofkarstlandscapescausesmostrainfalltopercolatedirectlyintotheground

waterratherthanrunoffacrossthesurfaceandintoastream. Thus,thesurfacedrainage

networkofakarstwatershedisquiteminimalcomparedtothatofanonkarstwatershed;


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indeed,theupperthirdofthewatershedhasalmostnosurfacedrainagefeaturesandoverhalf

ofthewatershedrarelyhasflowingwater. Thereareabout9milesofperenniallyflowing

reachesandabout7milesofintermittentlyflowingreaches. Duringextremelywetyearssome

intermittentreachesmayflowyearround.

ThedrainagenetworkofRockymarshRuniscomprisedofamainstemalongwithtwo

perenniallyflowingtributariestothemainstemtheEastandWestForks. TheWestForkdoes

nothaveanymajortributaries,whiletheEastForkhastwointermittentlyflowingtributaries

flowinginfromtheeast. Themainstemhasoneperenniallyflowingtributaryflowinginfrom

theeastDarkHollowBranch. Allofthemajortributariestothemainstemandtheforksare

springfed. JustbelowtheconfluenceofDarkHollowBranchwiththemainstem,inanarea

knownasSpringdale,thereareanumberofsmallspringfedtributariesflowingintothe

mainstemfromtheeastandwest. Thereisonesinkingstreamseparatedfromtherestofthe

drainagenetworklocatedwestofRt.480andsouthofVanClevesvilleRd.andoriginatinginthe

WhiteRockFarmsubdivision. Thisstreamflowsonlyduringverywetperiodsandassessment

ofgroundwatermapsindicatesthatafterreenteringthegroundthewatermayflowtowards

OpequonCreektothewest.

Flow

Factorsthataffecttheamountofrainfallconvertedtosurfacerunoffincludeperviousness,soil

moisture,andthestructureofundergroundbedrock. Thesoilsandkarsttopographyofthe

watershedcreateaverypermeablelandscape,suchthattheonlytimethereisanysignificant

surfacerunoffiswhenthesoilisverymoist.

StreamflowsinRockymarshRunappeartobedominatedbygroundwaterprocessesas

evidencedbyprecipitationandstreamflowrelationships. TheU.S.GeologicalSurvey(USGS)

installedastreamgage(http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wv/nwis/uv/?site_no=01618100)atScrabble

inearly2008.Observationofthehydrographdataseemstoindicatethatsingleeventstormsandassociatedsurfacerunoffhaveaminorimpactrelativetolongertermprecipitation

amounts. Theminorcontributionofsurfacerunofftostreamflowresultsinthestreamrarely

everexceedingitsbanks.Withthedevelopmentofastagedischargerelationshipand

installationofagroundwaterandprecipitationmonitoringstationinearly2009,anassessment

oftherelationshipbetweenprecipitation,runoff,andrechargerelationshipscannowbe

established. ThegroundwaterandprecipitationstationislocatedatTheConservationFunds

FreshwaterInstituteanddatacanbeaccessedviatheinternetat

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wv/nwis/uv/?site_no=392757077501001.

ThewatershedofRockymarshRunreceivesasurplusofabout10.5inchesofrainfallperyear.

AsKozar(1991)estimatesthat9inchesofthatrainfallentersthegroundwaterasrecharge,that

leaves1.5inchesforthesurfacerunoffcomponent. Expressedasstreamflow,these10.5inches

ofwaterequal2.6billiongallonsperyeardischargedintothePotomacRiver. Flowschange

fromyeartoyearandseasontoseasoninresponsetoannualandseasonalrainfallpatterns. A

typicalwateryear(OctoberSeptember)startswiththeRunflowingatitslowestlevel

(baseflow)withflowsgraduallyincreasinguntiltheyreachapeakinmidSpring.Oncethe


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growingseasonstarts,waterlossfromplantsandevaporationcausewaterlevelstobegin

droppinguntiltheyreachlowflowsinSeptembertostartthecyclealloveragain. The

descendinglimboftheflowcurveisgenerallysteeperthantherisinglimb.Duringthemonths

ofJunethroughAugustwaterlossesfromplantgrowthexceedtheamountofprecipitation

typicallyreceived. InSeptemberthelossesandgainsjustaboutcanceleachotherout. Peak

rechargeoccursfromNovemberthroughMarch.

ThemajorityofthegroundwaterdischargedintoRockymarshRunemergesthroughsprings.

Therearefivemajorspringsinthewatershedwithyearroundflowsgreaterthan100gallons

perminute(gpm). Threeofthesehaveflowsgreaterthan1,000gpm. TheseareRockSpring,

SpringHillSpring,andSouthwoodSpring. SouthwoodSpringformsthesourceoftheWest

ForkwhileRockSpringformsthesourceofperennialflowontheEastFork. Thereareatleast

seventeenotherspringsinthewatershedrangingfromsmallyearroundflows,seasonalflows,

andspringsthatonlyflowduringextremewetweather.However,somespringsthatflowonly

seasonallycanproduceflowsgreaterthan1,000gpm. Therearealsoareas(knownasturloughs

orestavelles)ofthewatershedthatmaydischargelargeamountsofgroundwaterinadiffuse

mannerduringwetperiods,typicallyinlatewinter/earlyspring.OneofthemorewellknownturloughsisalongthewestsideofGoslingMarshRoad,northofRt.45. Duringthespringof

2003largeamountsofwaterflowedoutofthisareaforseveralmonths,oftencoveringtheroad

withseveralinchesofwater.Mostofthemajorspringsareincloseproximitytothrustfaults,

overturnedanticlines/synclines,orcrossstrikefracturetraces. Twoofthelargestspringsfall

alongtheeasternmostthrustfaultinthewatershed.

Withoutacomprehensiveassessmentofgroundwaterinputsduringperiodsofbaseflowitis

difficulttosayhowmuchgroundwaterinputislostbackundergroundtoseepageonceitis

dischargedtothesurface. BasedontheUSGSseepageassessmentinthefallof2007itappears

thatlargeamountsofgroundwaterarelostdownstreamfromRockSpringandinthestretch

betweenBillmyerMillandtheconfluenceofRockymarshRunwithDarkHollowBranch

(AppendixCandMapA4). Itisalsodifficulttosayhowmuchofthewaterlostthroughseepage

reemergesdownstream,ifatall.Watermaybelostfromthestreambedthroughseepagein

thesoilorthroughcracksinthebedrock.Waterthatislostmayreemergefartherdownstream

throughothercracksorviaspringsorseeps.

Whilebedrockstructuremakesitverydifficulttodeterminegroundwaterpathsthroughthe

area,itispossibletoinferrechargeareasusinggroundwaterelevations. UsingWilliam

Hobbas(U.S.GeologicalSurvey)mapsofgroundwaterelevationsinBerkeleyandJefferson

counties,thegroundwaterrechargesourceareaforRockymarshRunwasdelineated. The

primarygroundwatercatchmentrunsfrom,southofthesurfacewatershedboundarystarting

aroundShenandoahJunctionandtheAppalachianFruitResearchStation,tothePotomacRiver

upstreamfromthemouthofRockymarshRun(SSEtoNNW). Smallergroundwater

catchmentsflowfromthesouthwestcornerofthewatershedtowardsOpequonCreekand

fromthenortheastcornerofthewatershedtothePotomacRiverdownstreamfromthemouth

ofRockymarshRun.


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10

History

TheearliestsettlersofthewatershedweretheNativeAmericans;infact,thereisonemajor

archaeologicalsiteinthewatershedaswellasanotherminorone,pointingtoearlyuseofthe

landscape. TheearliestNativeAmericansweretheMoundBuilders,orAdenapeople;

membersoftheHurontribeandIroquoisConfederacywerealsoknowntoinhabitthearea,

primarilyusingitinthewarmermonthsforhuntingandfishinggrounds.

Thefirstwhitesettlersenteredtheareaintheearly1700s,receivinglandgrantsfromLord

Fairfax,whoinheritedanenormoustractoflandencompassinglargeareasofVirginiaandWest

Virginia. TheoriginalnameofRockymarshRunwasVanMeterMarshRun,namedafterJohn

VanMeter,whoonceowned1,786acresinthevicinityofBillmyerMill. Besidesagriculture,

otherearlylivelihoodsincludedquarries,mills,andevenaclothingfactoryknowntohavebeen

locatedsomewherealongtheRunbetweenRt.45andBillmyerMillRd. Threemills(Billmyer

Mill,FormansMill,andJonesMill)wereknowntohavebeenlocatedalongtheRunatBillmyer

MillRd.andinScrabble.Attheturnofthe18thcentury,theLibertyGroveSchoolwasbuiltnear

the

intersection

of

Gosling

Marsh

Rd.

and

Swan

Pond

Rd.

Another

historic

school,

Edgewood

School,islocatedrightattheedgeofthewatershedonEdgewoodSchoolRd. Therewasa

watercressfarmontheEastForkjustupstreamfromRt.45atonetimeaswell. Thewater

controlstructurefortheoperationcanstillbeseenfromtheroad. Stillstandingaretheruinsof

an18thcenturyhouseandanumberof19thcenturyhomesremaininhabited. Additionally,

thereremainanumberofstonespringhousesdatingfromthe18thcenturyinthewatershed.

Therearethreeofficiallydesignatedhistoricdistrictswithinthewatershed(SwanPond,

Scrabble,andJonesMillRun)aswellastwohistoricsites,JonesMillandthepowerplantat

Dam4.

LandUse

Historical

PriortoEuropeansettlement,thewatershedwasprimarilyforestwithlargeriparianmarshes.

Earlysettlersgravitatedtothenumerousspringsbothasawatersourceforagricultureandas

anenergysourceformills. Bythemiddleofthe20thcenturymostoftheforesthadbeen

clearedandtheprimarylandusewasagriculture. Inthelasthalfofthe2othcentury,landuse

begantoshiftasbothresidentialdevelopmentandforestacreagesincreasedtenfold. This

conversionofagriculturallandtoresidentiallanduseandforestresultedinalossofabouthalf

ofthefarmlandthatexistedinthemiddleofthe20thcentury(Tables1&2). Thefactorsinvolved

inthisreversionofagriculturallandtoforestwereworseningprofitmarginsforfarmersandthe

subsequentshiftofagriculturalproductiontootherareasofthecountryandoverseas.

Table1. LandUseca.1950LandUse Acres Percent

Forest 271.3 2.5%

Residential 179.5 1.7%

Agriculture 10,386.2 95.8%


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Contemporary

Unusedfarmlandcontinuestoreverttograsslandandforestinvariousstagesofmaturity,

althoughsomeparcelsrevertingtoforestarestillinuseaspasture.Oftheroughly300acresof

forestfoundinthewatershedbackinthe1950sabouttwothirdsofthatstillremains. Asthis

represents

ecologically

important

mature

forest,

it

should

be

a

high

priority

for

conservation.

Whilethewatershedremainsyetrelativelyruralwithalmosthalfthelandusecomprisedof

agriculturaluses,theincorporatedareasofShepherdstownandMartinsburgareslowly

encroachingfromtheeastandwest.Otherthanagriculturaluses,22%ofthewatershedis

developedand23%isunderforestuse(Table2,MapA5). Intermsoflandcover,forestcovers

51%ofthewatershed(MapA6).Whilelanduseisadescriptionofhowpeopleusetheland,

inotherwordshowlandisusedsociallyandeconomically;landcoveriswhatactuallycovers

theland. Landcoversincludeasphalt,trees,grass,etc.

Table2. 2007LandUseLandUse Acres Percent

OpenWater/Wetland 119.9 1.1%

Forest 2,527.0 23.6%

Residential,Rural 1,030.4 9.6%

Residential,LowDensity 610.5 5.7%

Residential,MediumDensity 558.1 5.2%

Residential 2,199.0 20.5%Pasture 1,056.1 9.9%

Grassland/Hay 3,132.0 29.2%

Cropland 969.0 9.0%

Orchard 472.5 4.4%

Agriculture 5,629.6 52.5%Commercial 8.0 0.1%

Barren 128.0 1.2%

Transportation 225.5 2.1%

OwnershipTrends

Therearestillasubstantialnumberoflargetractsoffarmlandinthewatershed,butovertime,

thesetractsaregraduallytradinghandsfromapopulationofagingfarmerstodevelopersand

speculators. Therearecurrentlytwoconservationeasementstotaling147acresfoundinthe

watershedandthisnumberwilllikelygrowovertime. Bothoftheseparcelsarelocatedalong

RockymarshRun.

BuildoutAnalysis

Allundevelopedparcelsbothwithinandcontiguous(thosethatstraddletheboundary)tothe

watershedwereidentifiedandpotentiallotyieldscalculatedbasedonzoningandsubdivision


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12

guidelineswhereappropriate. Theundevelopedareaofallthoseparcelsis10,300acres

containing2,435potentiallots.Withintheboundariesofthewatershedthereare7,803

undevelopedacrescontaining1,563potentiallots. ContiguoustoRockymarshRunthereare

2,692acresofundevelopedlandwithinthewatershedrepresenting479potentialnewhomes.

Slightlyover800acresoflandinthewatershedisundevelopablefloodplain,wetland,oropen

water. Theamountofundevelopedlandthathasbeensubdividedandtheamountof

subdividedlandthatisintheprocessofbeingdevelopedisportrayedinTable3. The

SubdividedLandcategoryisasubsetoftheUndevelopedLandcategoryandthe

SubdividedLandinProcessofBeingDevelopedcategoryisasubsetoftheSubdividedLand

category.

Therearecurrentlyalmost1,000homesinthewatershedon2,335acres,andthetotalareaof

thewatershedis10,837acres. Thus,theaveragelotsizeforexistinghomesisslightlylessthan

2.5acres. Lotsizesinthebuildoutanalysisaverageabout4acres. Thismatchesthetrendin

theareatowardslargerlotsubdivisions.Whenandifallthebuildablelandinthewatershedwill

bedevelopedisunknown. Ascalculated,thereare413lotsinundevelopedsubdivisionsinthe

watershed.Athistoricratesofdevelopment(Figure1),thispoolofavailablelandshouldbeconsumedby2050. Theentirepoolofundevelopedlandwillprobablynotbedevelopedbythe

endofthe21stcenturyathistoricratesofdevelopment.

AssumptionsUsedinCalculation

Thepoolofundevelopedparcelswascreatedfromallundevelopedparcelslargerthan20acresandundevelopedparcelssmallerthan20acresthathave

beensubdivided.Whileparcelssmallerthan20acresmaybesubdividedand

developedinthefuture,theincreaseinhomeswouldlikelybeminimal.Mostof

thesesmallerparcelsalreadyhavehomesonthem.

InJeffersonCounty,lotyieldswerebasedonstandardlotsizeperzoningdesignationunlessotherdatawasavailable.Anylotssmallerthan10acresin

theAgriculturaldistrictwereassignedalotyieldof1. InBerkeleyCounty,

whichlackszoning,lotyieldswerebasedonthelotyieldofonelargeBerkeley

Countysubdivisioninthewatershedunlessotherdatawasavailable.

Undevelopablelandwasnotsubtractedfromtheanalysisasthereareanumberoffactorsthataffectlotyieldandbecausetheaveragelotsizeresultingfrom

thecalculationwassignificantlyhigherthantheaveragelotsizeofexisting

development.

Amoredetailedanalysiswouldincludefactorssuchasresourceprotectionareasandopenspaceratiostodevelopmoreexactlotyields. Actuallotyields

dependonmultiplevariablesbeyondthescopeofthisanalysis.


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Table3. ProportionofUndevelopedSubdividedLandandStatus(2008)ContiguoustoWatershed WithinWatershed

Category Acres Lots Acres LotsUndevelopedLand 10,300 2,435 7,803 1,563

SubdividedLand 1,306 816 1,032 413

SubdividedLandinProcessofBeingDeveloped 347 77 347 77

Figure1. HistoricalandProjectedHousingGrowth

Housing Grow th

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

NumberofStructures

Demographics

Thewatershed,locatedbetweenthegrowthcentersofShepherdstownandMartinsburg,

straddlestheborderbetweentheWestVirginiacountiesofBerkeleyandJefferson(MapA1).

ThewatershedislocatedwithintheBaltimoreWashingtonMetropolitanStatisticalAreaas

well. Populationinthewatershedhasgrownfromanagriculturallandscapeofseveralhundred

peopletoabout2,500personscurrently. Ifcurrentgrowthtrendscontinue,over5,000peoplemayliveinthewatershedby2030(basedon2000censusdatapersonsperhousehold).

Therearetwounincorporatedcommunitiesandanumberofsubdivisionslocatedinthe

watershed. Thecommunities,Kearneysville(pop.250)andScrabble(pop.49)arelocatedat

thesouthandnorthendsofthewatershed,respectively(MapA1). Inhistorictimes,Scrabble


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14

wasknownasHardScrabble. In2008,thereweretwentyfoursubdivisionsinthewatershed

rangingfromsmalltomidsized(MapA7).Mostofthesehavebeenfullybuiltout,butafew

arestillintheprocessofdevelopment. Almost1,000acresinthewatershedareslatedfor

developmentinthenearfuture.

Subdivisions

LeisureAcres WhisperKnoll

DarkHollow RockSpringAcres

Horner Heatherfield

MecklenburgHeights SpringsatShepherdstown

TheCrofts DeerfieldVillage

WillowSpringAcres Muzzey

PersimmonKnoll Hillcrest

WhiteRockFarm AmblersGlen

ShenandoahFarms FoxGlen

CozyRetreat

Watershed Functions

Thebasiccomponentsofawatershedaresurfaceandgroundwater,wetlands,anduplands.

Thesecomponentsinteractwithoneanothertocreateasystemofhydrologicalandecological

functions. TheprimarydrivingforcesofwatershedfunctioninRockymarshRunaregeology

andclimate. RockymarshRunwatershedfunctionshydrologicallybycollectingwater

undergroundandslowlydischargingitthroughaflatlandscapethatretainswaterinmarshes

andotherlowlyingareasintheriparianzone. Thewatershedfunctionsecologicallyby

providinguniquewetland,coldwater,andsubterraneanhabitats. Todevelopawatershed

managementplan,anunderstandingofthecontextofthesefunctionsmustbedeterminedby

assessingthecurrentstateofthefunctions,developingaplantorestorethosethatare

impairedandsustainthosethatarenot.

HydrologicalFunctions

Awatershedfunctionshydrologicallybycollecting,storing,anddischargingwater.

Topography,climate,andambientmoistureconditionsregulatecollectionfunctions. A

watershedperformscollectionbychannelingprecipitationalongthesurfaceuntiliteither

percolatesintothegroundorreachesastream. RockymarshRunisveryefficientatcollecting

waterandtransmittingitunderground. Verylittleprecipitationentersthestreamassurface

runoff,reflectedintherelativelysimplesurfacedrainagenetworkofthewatershed. A

watershedwithmoresurfacerunoffhasmanymorebranchesinthetreethatrepresentsits

drainagenetwork. Collectionprocessesarealsoaffectedbyambientconditionspriortoa

precipitationevent;duringverywetperiods,theremaybesignificantlymoresurfacerunoff.

Thestoragefunctionofwatershedcanbestbethoughtofashowitretainswater. Itisbasically

anissueonhowlongaraindroptakestoreachthemouthofthewatershedafterithitsthe

ground.Watershedstorageisprovidedbysoil,streams,vegetation,wetlands,andaquifers. In


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watershedswheresurfacerunoffpredominates,thereisnotasmuchstorageasinwatersheds

wheregroundwaterrechargedominates,likeRockymarshRun. Thekarsttopographyofthe

watershedallowslargeamountsofwatertobestoredforlongperiodsoftime. Somewater

maystayinthegroundforaslongas50yearsbeforeitisdischargedtothesurface. Thus,long

retentiontimesarethenaturalstateofthewatershed,providingslowandsteadyflowsofcold

water. Ambientmoistureconditionsalsoaffectstorage;duringverywetperiods,thestorage

systemisalreadyfull,somoreoftheprecipitationthatoccursduringthattimeleavesthe

watershedassurfacerunoff.

Thefinalhydrologicfunctionofawatershedisdischarge. Howmuchandhowfastwatergets

dischargedoutofthewatersheddependsonthecollectionandstoragefunctions. Awatershed

thathasacollectionsystemthatispredominantlyonthesurfaceandpossessinglittleaquifer

storagetendstohaveawiderrangeofflowsthanonesuchasRockymarshRun. Theefficient

collectionofwaterandstorageintheaquifercauseRockymarshRuntohavesteadyyearround

flowswithlittlevariation. ThecoldwaterofRockymarshRunisalsoamanifestationofthis

slowandsteadydischargepatternasthelongresidencetimeofthewaterundergroundallows

ittocooldowntoatemperatureofabout50F. Streamswithmoresurfacerunoffaregenerallywarmerthatthosedominatedbygroundwaterflows.

AllthreeofthehydrologicfunctionsinRockymarshareaffectedbyambientmoisture

conditions.Asthesoilbecomesmoresaturatedwithwaterandgroundwaterlevelsrise

collection,storage,anddischargeareallaffected. Permeabilityincreasesintheunderground

karstofRockymarshRunasyougetclosertothesurface. Thus,duringdrierperiodsofthe

year,groundwatertravelsrelativelyslowly. However,asgroundwaterlevelsriseupintomore

permeablezones,itstartstomovefasterthroughthemorefracturedepikarstlayerthanitdoes

throughdeeper,lesspermeableformations. Highgroundwaterlevelsalsomakeitharderfor

watertopercolateunderground,causingwatertobackupinthesystemandresultingin

localizedareasofpondedwater.

EcologicalFunctions

Awatershedfunctionsecologicallybyprovidinghabitatandpathwaysforchemicaland

biologicalprocesses,anexpressionoftheinteractionbetweenwaterandlife. Theaquatic

habitatofRockymarshischaracterizedbycoldwaterwithanabundanceofcarbondioxidewith

littleerosiveenergy,resultinginaverymarshyandsiltyhabitat. Biogeochemicalcycling

processesoccurthroughthenaturalweatheringofrockandsoil,andthroughplantgrowth. Ina

naturalundisturbedwatershed,nutrientsarereleasedandabsorbedcontinuouslyinacycleof

equilibrium.Whenhumansenterthepicture,someoftheseprocessesaredisturbedthrough

landusepracticesandconfoundedbytheimportationofnutrientsintothewatershedinthe

formofhumanfoodsandfertilizers. Thislossofnaturalassimilativefunctionandtheimportof

nutrientsimpairtheabilityoftheecosystemtoprocessthem,asawatershedhasafinite

capacityforassimilatingnutrients.Oneoftheprimarytoolsinwatershedmanagementisusing

ecologicalprocessestomitigatethesedisturbancesorstresses.Onesuchtoolistheriparian

buffer,astripofnaturalvegetationalongthestream.


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RockymarshRunanditsassociatedriparianbufferzone(thestripoflandthatrunsalongsidea

stream)arepartandparcelintermsofecology. Thestreamdefinestheriparianzoneandthe

riparianzonesustainsthestream. Theriparianzoneisacrucialinterfacebetweenthelandand

water. Thecriticalhabitatoftheriparianzoneisvitaltothehealthofavarietyofplants,

animals,andfish. Indeed,riparianzonesareoftentheonlyhabitatsuitableforsomeplants,

reptiles(suchastherareWoodTurtle),andamphibiansthatneedmoistconditionstoliveand

reproduce. Aforestedripariancorridorisparticularlyimportantforasmallstreamlike

RockymarshRun;inthatitprovideseverything(exceptwater)theRunneedstomaintaina

healthyaquaticcommunity.

Ahealthyriparianzoneinthisregionshouldbewooded. Treesprovidenumerousecological

servicessuchasshadethatkeepstheRuncool;streamhabitatintheformoflargedebris;food

fortheanimalsandinsectsthatBrookTroutandotherdenizensoftheRunpreyupon;rootsto

keepthestreambanksinplace;absorptionofnutrientsfromuplandrunoff;andabsorptionof

floodwaters. Continuousripariancorridorsarealsoimportanttravelroutesforbirdsand

animals.

Initsnatural,fullyfunctioningstate,RockymarshRunsustainedathrivingcoldwaterfisheryfor

ournativeBrookTrout.Whiletherewereothercontributingfactors(suchashistorical

overfishing)thatledtotheextirpationofBrookTrout,theremovaloftreesfromtheriparian

corridorhasprobablybeenthemajorcauseofthecurrentstateofdysfunction. Looking

forward,changesinlandusemaysignificantlyimpairthecollectionandfiltrationcapacityof

thewatershedaswellasitsabilitytocontinueproducingcold,clearwater.

Theprimaryhistoricalchangesthataffectedwatershedfunctionswerelandclearingfor

agriculture(vegetationloss)andagricultureproduction(topsoil/organicmatterloss). These

changescausedstreamtemperaturestoincrease,aquaticproductivitytodecline,andincreased

sedimentation.

Thewatershedanditsattendantfunctionscontinuetobeinflux.Naturalregenerationof

forestsandimprovedagriculturalpracticesareworkingforthebenefitofRockymarshRun

whiledevelopmentiscreatingalandscapelessperviousandcounteractingnaturalregeneration

offorests. Soildisturbanceduringtheconstructionanddevelopmentprocess,massgrading

andtopsoilremovalinparticular,cancausenegativeimpactsongroundwaterrecharge

processes. Alltold,thesechangesmayexacerbatecurrentwarmwatertemperaturesandlow

streamproductivity,aswellasreducecoldgroundwaterinflowsbycausingashifttohydrologic

functionsmoredominatedbysurfacerunoff.


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CriticalFunctionsforSustainingDesignatedUses

ColdWaterAquaticCommunity

HydrologicalCollection

EcologicalHabitat

CleanDrinkingWater

HydrologicalCollection

EcologicalFiltration

Maintainingthenaturalgroundwaterdominatedhydrologicfunctionsofthewatershed

requirespreservationofnaturaldrainageandrechargepatterns,whilemaintainingthenatural

ecologicalfunctionsrequiresrestorationandmaintenanceofriparianforests. Retaining the

naturalfiltrationaffordedbyuplandandriparianvegetationaswellasmaintainingexisting

groundwaterrechargepatternswillalsoservetosustainoursupplyofcleandrinkingwater.

Maintainingthesefunctionswillensureacontinuedflowofcold,cleanspringwateranda

healthyproductiveaquaticcommunity. Insummary,theprimarystressorstothesefunctions

areincreasesinimperviousness;lossofvegetation,habitatandwetlands;andexcessnutrients

andsediment.

WatershedManagementContext

ThefederalCleanWaterActSection303drequiresstatestodeveloplistsofwaterbodiesthat

donotmeetwaterqualitystandardsandsubmittheseliststotheU.S.Environmental

ProtectionAgency(USEPA)everytwoyears.Onceawaterbodyislistedasimpaired,thestate

mustthendevelopaplanorTotalMaximumDailyLoad(TMDL)forremovingthat

impairment. TheTMDLoutlinesthetotalmaximumdailyamountofpollutionthatcanbe

dischargedtoawaterbodyandyetstillallowittomeetitsdesignateduses. UnderSection

305boftheCleanWaterAct,statesarerequiredtodevelopaninventoryofthewaterqualityof

allwaterbodiesandsubmitareporttotheUSEPAeverytwoyearsdetailingthestatusor

conditionofthesewaterbodies. EverywaterbodyintheUnitedStateshasdesignateduses.

Thesearetheusesthatawaterbodymustbeabletoprovidetousersofthatwaterbody.One

suchdesignationisthatawaterbodybefishable/swimmable. Awaterbodythathasbeen

designatedasfishable/swimmablemusthavefishtofishforandbeswimmablewithout

swimmersgettingill.

TheCleanWaterActalsoestablishesanobligationonupstreamwaterbodiestopreventthem

fromimpairingdownstreamwaterbodies. InthecaseoftheChesapeakeBay,theBayisnot

meetingitsdesignatedusesbecauseofpollutionoccurringupstreamfromtheBay. Thus,

upstream

jurisdictions,

including

West

Virginia,

have

been

encouraged

to

reduce

the

nutrients

andsedimentsthatareimpairingtheChesapeakeBay.

AspartoftheChesapeakeBay2000Agreement,allofthejurisdictionsintheBaywatershed

decidedonequitablemethodforallocatingloadreductionresponsibilitiesamongthemselves.

ThisprocessresultedincaploadallocationsforeachjurisdictionintheChesapeakeBay


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watershed.Acaploadisthemaximumloadofnitrogen,phosphorus,andsedimentthatthe

ChesapeakeBaycanassimilateandstillmeetitsdesignateduses. Tomeetitscapload

allocation,WestVirginiaandtheotherBayjurisdictionsdevelopedTributaryStrategies.As

partofWestVirginiasstrategy,thestatedevelopedawatershedprioritylistthatranksallof

thewatershedsinthePotomacbasinintermsofimportanceforpriorityimplementation

efforts. The10digitwatershedthatcontainsRockymarshRunwasrankedfourthonthatlist.

Hydrologicunitsareusedbystateandfederalauthoritiesasanestedclassificationsystem

basedonhydrologicorderfromthesmallestcatchmentmeasuredinacresuptobasins

coveringthousandsofsquaremiles.Whilethedefinitionofawatershedisallofthearea

upstreamfromapointthatdrainstothatpoint,hydrologicunitsdonotalwaysmeetthat

criteria,althoughtheirboundariesarealwaysbasedontopographicdrainage. Hydrologicunits

aremoreofamanagementunitthanaphysicalphenomenon. Hydrologicunitsarecodedin

pairsofnumbers,thusthereare2,4,6,8,10,12,and14digitwatersheds. Themoredigits

thereareinahydrologicunitcodethesmallerthewatershed.

TheRockymarshRunwatershed(12digitHydrologicUnit(HU)020700041201)islocatedintheEasternPanhandleofWestVirginia,withintheRockymarshRunPotomacRiverHydrologic

Unit0207000412,whichiswithintheConococheagueOpequonHydrologicUnit02070004,

whichiswithinthePotomacRiverwatershedHydrologicUnit0207,withinintheMidAtlantic

hydrologicregionHydrologicUnit02. ThePotomacRiverdrainsintotheChesapeakeBay,an

estuaryoftheAtlanticOcean.

Formanagementpurposesthe12digithydrologicunitofRockymarshRunhasbeensubdivided

furtherintothree14digitsubwatersheds;Mainstem,WestFork,andEastFork. Eachofthese

subwatershedshasbeensubdividedfurtherinto16digitcatchments.

DesignationsusedbytheWestVirginiaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection

StreamCodeWVP3

HydrologicUnit0207004.370

WVWatershedManagementFrameworkHydrologicGroupC

DevelopedasacoordinatedframeworkforTMDLdevelopmentandwatershedplanning,the

WestVirginiaWatershedManagementFrameworkisafiveyearcyclethatsetstheschedulefor

waterqualitymonitoring,TMDLdevelopment,NPDESpermitrenewals,andwatershed

prioritization. Allofthewatershedsinthestatearegroupedintofivehydrologicgroupsand

eachofthefivehydrologicgroupsisonarotatingfiveyearcycle. Listedasimpairedin2006,

RockymarshRunisslatedfordevelopmentofaTMDLin2021. Priorto2021,theWVDEPwill

performadetailedassessmentofthewatershedandthendevelopaTMDLforthewatershed.

DesignatedUsesandImpairments

AquaticLife

TroutWater


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RockymarshRunsdesignateduseasaTroutWaterwaslistedasimpairedforitsentirelength

inthe2006WV303(d)listing. ThecriterionforlistingwasCNAbiologicalandthesourceof

theimpairmentwaslistedasunknown. CNAstandsforConditionsNotAllowableand

referstoconditionsnotallowableinstatewaters;inthisinstanceconditionsthatadverselyalter

thebiologicalcomponentofRockymarshRunsaquaticecosystem. Thejustificationforthe

impairmentistheStreamConditionIndex(SCI)datacollectedinRockymarshRunin2003by

theWVDEP. AtthattimetheSCIvaluewas41.3;allstreamswithvalueslessthan60.6are

consideredimpaired.DatacollectedbytheICPRBin2006reflectedaSCIthatwasstillbelow

thislimitbutsomewhathigherthanin2003. TheSCIisarelativevalueandrequiresareference

streaminordertobeinterpretedcorrectly. AccordingtoDaveMontali(WVDEP,per.comm.)

theSCIforRockymarshRunmayactuallybenormalforthelowgradientkarststreamthatitis.

AlowSCIscoremeansthatthestreamisimpairedinitsabilitytosupportaquaticlifebecauseit

lacksasufficientbaseforafoodchain. Thus,asRockymarshisastatelistedTroutWaterthis

lowSCIscoreindicatesthatitcannotsupportareproducingtroutpopulation.

WhileRockymarshRunmayormaynotbebiologicallyimpaireditcertainlyislimitedinits

abilitytosupportathrivingaquaticfoodchain. Improvingthatfoodchainisagoal. Increasedripariantreecoverwillbothfilteroutnutrientsaswellprovidecarbonsourcesfor

denitrification.

HumanHealth

Water(Primary)ContactRecreation

DrinkingWaterSupply

AlthoughnotcurrentlylistedasimpairedforHumanHealthuses,recentwaterqualitydata

collectedinRockymarshRunindicatethepossibilityofimpairmentsincethemajorityof

samplescollectedin20072008exceedthemaximumdailyfecalcoliformlimitof400colonies

per100mL. DatacollectedbytheWVDEPin2003showfecalcoliformlevelsof200

colonies/100mL.

BaselineConditionWaterQuality

VerylittlehistoricwaterqualitydataexistsforRockymarshRun,however,extensivewater

qualitymonitoringwasinitiatedin2007andwatershedwidebiologicaldatawascollected

duringthespringof2008. KnownhistoricsampleshavebeencollectedbytheWVDEP,ICPRB,

and

USGS

(Appendix

D

&

E).

Waterqualitydatawascollectedthroughoutthewatershedinthefallof2007through2010

(AppendixC)andhasbeencollectedmonthlyattheUSGSstreamgagesiteinScrabblesince

Mayof2008(MapA4). Asummaryofsamplingmethodsalongwithqualityassuranceand

qualitycontrolproceduresisincludedinAppendixI. Usingrechargeestimatesdevelopedby


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20

Kozar(1991),RockymarshRundischargesabout2.56billiongallonsperyear. Flow

measurementsbasedonthestreamgageduringtheperiodOctober2007throughDecember

2010averaged2.98billiongallonsperyear. Asthestreamgageisstillintheprocessofbeing

calibrated,andthestreamgageflowmeasurementsrepresentarelativelyshorttimeperiodin

termsofclimaticfluctuations,usingKozarsdischargedataisprobablymorerealisticoflong

termflowlevels. Thus,usingKozarsdischargedataandwaterqualitydatacollectedatthe

streamgagesiteitisestimatedthattheaverageannualpollutantloadgeneratedby

RockymarshRunis60,661poundsofnitrogen,3,520poundsofphosphorus,and179tonsof

sediment. Theactualamountofnutrientsandsedimentdischargedcouldbequitehigheras

thesenumbersdonotreflectdischargesduringstormeventswhenmuchhigherlevelsof

nutrients(particularlyphosphorus)andsedimentmaybedischarged.

Table4. ContemporaryWaterQualityDataCollectedatScrabble(Site731_126)

Date

Discharge Water

Temp. Fecal

Coliform Total

Nitrogen Total

Phosphorus

TotalSuspendedSolids

(cfs) (C) (col/100mL) (mg/LasN) (mg/LasP) (mg/L)

10/31/07 5.0 8.3 709 2.10 0.13 n/m05/20/08 n/a 12.2 1040 2.21 0.18 53.006/24/08 14.0 14.6 600 2.40 0.06 25.007/30/08 12.0 16.1 174 2.80 2.56 32.008/26/08 9.0 15.1 182 2.94 0.04 28.009/23/08 8.0 14.8 228 2.65 0.08 9.010/28/09 6.6 9.2 112 2.55 0.03 0.111/25/08 6.0 7.2 180 3.25 0.06 4.012/30/08 7.2 6.8 145 2.14 0.06 1.002/03/09 7.7 6.5 142 2.58 0.05 5.002/26/09 6.9 7.5 136 3.84 0.03 0.503/26/09 5.3 8.9 210 3.50 0.03 0.504/29/09 9.4 14.9 130 2.52 0.06 22.005/21/09 11.0 14.2 420 2.63 0.06 2.006/25/09 7.6 18.7 480 2.46 0.04 23.008/06/09 4.9 18.4 410 3.35 0.17 26.008/27/09 3.6 19.7 1760 3.25 0.20 81.009/29/09

3.9

13.5

240

3.66

0.05

7.5

10/29/09 5.3 12.9 180 2.22 0.10 0.501/20/10 10.0 7.5 310 2.70 0.08 0.502/25/10 30.0 7.5 81 2.36 0.22 23.503/25/10 52.0 10.4 68 1.91 0.07 20.0


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21

04/14/10 34.0 10.1 122 3.26 0.10 20.005/20/10 21.0 13.0 280 3.22 0.05 13.006/10/10 24.0 14.7 520 2.95 0.06 3.007/21/10 11.0 17.2 260 3.30 0.07 35.008/16/10 8.1 15.9 230 3.44 0.06 30.510/21/10 7.2 10.4 146 3.10 0.07 1.012/16/10 9.0 1.9 32 3.00 0.01 2.0Average 12.1 12.0 229 2.8 0.2 16.7

Temperature

Baselinetemperaturemonitoringwasinitiatedat10sitesthroughoutthewatershedin

September2007(MapA4). ThethresholdforwatertemperaturenecessarytosustainBrook

Troutpopulationsis22C.Although2008averageairtemperatureswerehigherthannormal

inJune,themonthsoftheyearthatarenormallyhottest,JulyandAugust,bothexperienced

belownormalaverageairtemperatures. In2008,averagewatertemperaturesintheWestFork

werewellaboveanyotherareasinthewatershed. AheatwaveinearlyJune2008caused

watersintheWestForktoexceedthetemperaturethresholdforaboutaweek,andlaterthat

Junetheuppermosttemperaturestationloggedsevendaydailymaximumtemperatures

abovethethresholdthroughJuly. TheotherstationontheWestForkalsologged

temperaturesabovethethresholdforshortperiodsseveraltimesduringthisintervalandatone

pointremainedcontinuouslyabovethethresholdforaperiodlastingalmosttwoweeks.

Sevendaydailymaximumtemperaturesatallotherstationsremainedbelowthethresholdall

summer.Atthistime,itappearsthelowersectionofRockymarshRunfromitsconfluencewith

DarkHollowBranchdowntoScrabbleremainsthecoldeststretch(AppendixF).

Despitethelackofariparianbufferthroughoutportionsofthewatershed,thenumerous

springsthatdischargeintoRockymarshRunkeeptemperatureslowenoughtosupporta

reproducingbrooktroutpopulation.Withtheimplementationofproposedhabitatrestoration

actions(i.e.increasedriparianbuffer),instreamtemperatureswilllikelydecrease,further

reducingpotentialtemperatureinducedstresstoournativebrooktrout.

StreamBiology

Macroinvertebrates

Awatershedwideassessmentofbenthicmacroinvertebrateassemblageswasconductedin

spring2008at15sites(AppendixG). Basedonthemacroinvertebratetaxaidentifiedforeach

sample,WestVirginiaStreamConditionIndex(WVSCI)scoreswerecalculatedforeachsite.

Theindexrangesfrom0100,withlowerscoresassociatedwithpoorerecologicalconditions,as

anabundanceofmacroinvertebratesisnecessarytosupportadiverseandhealthyfish

population.WVSCIscoresforRockymarshRunrangedfrom19to41,withameanscoreof32.


24/89

22

TheaveragescoresfortheEastFork,WestFork,SouthMainstem,andNorthMainstemwere

26.3,36.7,34.5,and28.3,respectively. Anyscorelessthan60.6isconsideredbyWVDEPto

indicateastreamthatisimpairedinitsabilitytosupportaquaticlife.Othermacroinvertebrate

samplescollectedin2003and2006resultedinhigherscoresbutwerestillbelowthethreshold

ofimpairment(AppendixD). Bothoftheseprevioussampleswerefromonlyoneortwosites

andwerecollectedinlatesummer,renderingcomparisondifficult.

WhiletheselowWVSCIscoressuggestthatRockymarshRunishighlyimpairedandmaybe

incapableofsustainingahealthyecosystemorareproducingbrooktroutpopulation,the

distinctiveinstreamphysicalandchemicalconditionsassociatedwiththeuniquegeologyof

thewatershedlikelysupportanaturalmacroinvertebratecommunitymuchdifferentfromthe

referencecommunitiesusedduringtheconstructionofWVSCI. Thus,itisbelievedthatthe

macroinvertebratecommunityinRockymarshRunissufficienttosupportareproducingbrook

troutpopulation. Itisnotablethatapproximately20,000individualsbelongedtotheorders

Isopoda(sowbugs)andAmphipoda(scuds);(AppendixG),whichwouldseemtoofferan

adequatefoodsourceforresidentfishes.

Fishassemblages

FishspeciesfoundinRockymarshRunincludesculpins,darters,dace,suckers,shiners,sunfish,

largemouthbass,andcommoncarpamongothers(AppendixH). TheWestVirginiaDivisionof

NaturalResourcesregularlystocksthestreamwithnonnativeRainbowTrout. BrookTrout

werehistoricallynativetothewatershedbutwereextirpatedinthesecondhalfofthe20th

centurythroughacombinationofoverfishingandpoorenvironmentalquality.

Habitat

Ahabitatassessmentconductedinfall2008(AppendixG)determinedthatinstreamconditions

inRockymarshRunvaryaccordingtogroundwater(spring)inputs. Streamstretches

dominatedbygroundwaterinputs(downstreamfromsprings)withtheirhighlevelsofcarbon

dioxideareclearandpossessgoodstreambottomquality,sufficientforbrooktroutspawning.

Otherstretcheshavecloudywatercausedbythenaturalprecipitationofcalciumcarbonateand

thisprecipitatecoatsthestreambottom. Thus,instreamhabitatqualityispartlydependenton

thelevelofcarbondioxideinthewater. Asspringdischargesarehighincarbondioxide,the

sectionsofRockymarshRundownstreamfromthesedischargesarecharacterizedbyclear

waterandopenpebbly/rockysubstrate. Ascarbondioxidediffusesoutofthewater,calcium

carbonate(foundinhighlevelsinkarstgroundwaters)beginstoprecipitate,cloudthewater,

andsettleonthebottom.Materialsonthebottomsuchaspebbles,rocks,andorganicdebris

becomecoatedwiththissiltandsometimesahardimpenetrablelayerofmarl,renderingmuch

ofthehabitatinaccessibletoforagingandspawning(forthosefishthatrequirethattypeof

habitat). Interestingly,thesiteswithbetterspawninghabitatweregenerallyfoundtohaveless

coverintheformoflargewoodydebris.

Whileconnectivitybetweennecessaryhabitatsisextremelyimportantforthesurvivalofbrook

troutpopulations,thisconnectivityisoftenseverelydiminishedbythepresenceofculverts.

WithinthemainstemofRockymarshRun,thereare10roadcrossingsthathaveassociated


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23

culverts.WiththeexceptionofapotentialbarrieratthemouthofRockymarshRun(Culverton

Dam4Road),allculvertsappeartobepassablebybrooktrout.

AlthoughitappearsthatRockymarshRuncontainsthenecessaryhabitatrequirementsfora

reproducingbrooktroutpopulation;habitatrestorationcouldenhancethechanceofsurvival.

Largeadultshavebeenshowntodistributethemselveswithrespecttoseasonallyimportant

habitatcharacteristics,suchascoverandincreasingstreamdepth. Incontrast,spawningadult

andjuvenilebrooktrouttendtoconcentrateinsmallersystemswithabundantspawninggravel

andcover. InRockymarshRun,areaswithhighspawninggraveltendedtobenearcoldwater

(spring)inputsandhavelowcomplexityandavailablecover. Thus,althoughspawninghabitat

existswithinRockymarshRun,theadditionoflargewoodydebrisandavailablecoverinthese

areasmayhelpensurebrooktroutpopulationsurvival. Furthermore,frequentassessmentsof

culvertsandpotentiallargewoodydebrisbarriersneedtobeconductedtoensureconnectivity

betweenthesecriticalhabitattypes.

Basedonthehabitatassessmentdata,itisrecommendedthatbrooktroutbereintroduced

into

Rockymarsh

Run.

Release

of

young

of

the

year

in

the

spring,

followed

by

the

release

of

adultsinthefallwillprovidethegreatestpotentialfortheestablishmentofaselfsustaining

brooktroutpopulationwithinRockymarshRun.

Stressors

StressorsarethecausesofimpairmentstoRockymarshRun. Stressorsarephenomenathat

stressthenaturalsystem,impairingitsabilitytoperformitsnaturalfunctionsandprovide

servicestobothanimalsandhumans. Thesourcesofthesestresseswillbediscussedinthe

nextsectionandasummarytableofstressor/sourcerelationshipsisincludedattheendofthe

Sourcessection.

StressorsinRockymarshRunWatershedStressor Description

Nutrients

Theprimarynutrientsofconcernarenitrogenandphosphorus.Whilenota

majorstressortoRockymarshtheyareamajorsourceofimpairmenttothe

ChesapeakeBay,towhichitistributary.

TemperatureHighstreamtemperaturesareastressortothedesignateduseofRockymarsh

Runasacoldwaterfishery.

HabitatAlteration

Habitatalterationintheformoftreeremovalintheriparianzonecausesstream

temperaturestorise,impairingthecoldwaterfishery. Riparianforestsarealso

animportantbasetotheaquaticfoodchain.

Pathogens

PathogensfrompasturesandseptictanksimpairtheHumanHealth

designateduseofRockymarshRunforcontactrecreationandasadrinkingwater

sourceforlivestockandwildlife.

FlowAlteration

ThekarsthydrogeologicsystemofRockymarshRunevolvedovermillenniato

thepointwhereitistoday.Maintainingthissystemofgroundwaterrecharge

anddischargepatternsisimportantforthemaintenanceofstreamflowsandthe

coldgroundwaterinputsthatarerequiredtosustainacoldwaterfisheryand


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24

drinkingwateruses. Alteringtheserecharge/dischargepatternswillresultin

flowsthatarewarmerandmorevariable,thusdisruptingthenaturalhydrology

ofthewatershed. Removalofnaturalvegetation,soilcompaction,andincreased

impervioussurfacesalsodisruptnaturalrechargeprocesses.

Siltation

RockymarshRunischaracterizedbystretchesofstreamwithlargegroundwater

inputs

followed

by

marl

based

stretches.

Instream

precipitation

of

calcium

carbonate(marl)isanaturalsourceofsiltationwithinthesemarlbased

stretches. Spawninghabitatandforagearecoveredbymarlmakingitdifficult

foraquaticanimalstofindfoodandreproduce. Stretcheswithhighgroundwater

inputsrepresentthebesthabitatandshouldbeofhighestpriorityforriparian

restoration. Theissueisexacerbatedinnonshadedstretcheswherewarmer

temperaturesdecreasecarbondioxidesolubility,increasingmarlprecipitation.

Siltationfromsurfaceerosionisaminor,temporarystressor,primarilyarising

fromsitedisturbanceduringresidentialconstruction.

Sources

SourcesarethephysicalcausesofstressorstoRockymarshRunthatrequiremanagementin

ordertomeetthegoalsofthewatershedmanagementplan.

PointSources

TheonlypointsourceinthewatershedisTheConservationFundsFreshwaterInstitute. This

facilitydischargesabout0.9mgdofaquacultureeffluentintoDarkHollowBranch,atributary

toRockymarshRun. Thestressorsfromthissourcearenutrientsandthermalmodification.

Agriculture

Agricultureinthewatershedconsistsofdairyfarms,cattleoperations,orchards,crops,and

horsefarms. Stressorsassociatedwithagriculturearenutrients,siltation,pathogens,and

habitatalteration.

Currently,thereare5,630acresofagriculturallandinthewatershed.Overhalfofthisis

grasslandorhay,almost19%pasture,and17%croplandwiththeremainderinorchards.

BestManagementPractices

RiparianForestBuffers

RiparianGrassBuffers

WetlandRestoration

TreePlanting

StreamRestoration

NutrientManagement

EnhancedNutrientManagement

CoverCrops

ConservationTillage

LandRetirement


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25

ConservationPlans

OffStreamWateringw/Fencing&RotationalGrazing

OffStreamWaterwithFencing

StreambankFencing

AnimalWasteManagement

HorsePaddockManagement

Construction

Constructionisatemporarysource,thusitsimpactvariesfromyeartoyear. Stressors

associatedwithconstructionaresiltation,flowalteration,andtemperature.


Erosion&SedimentControl

LowImpactDevelopment

DevelopedLands

UrbanrunoffinRockymarshRuncomesfromresidentialandcommerciallands. Stressors

associatedwithdevelopedlandsarenutrients,pathogens,siltation,andtemperature.

Currently,thereare2,199acresofdevelopedlandinthewatershed,almosthalfofitisrural

residentialwith25%inmediumdensityresidentialand28%inlowdensityresidential.

Impervioussurfacescover1.7%ofthewatershed(MapA8)


RiparianForestBuffers

RiparianGrassBuffers

WetlandRestoration

TreePlanting

StreamRestoration

NutrientManagement

StormwaterManagement

SepticSystems

Allofthedomesticwastewaterinthewatershedistreatedbysepticsystems. Thestressors

associatedwithsepticsystemsarenutrientsandpathogens.

Currently,thereareestimatedtobe923septicsystemsinthewatershed.


SepticSystemPumping

AdvancedTreatmentSystems

ConnectiontoCentralizedWastewaterTreatment


28/89


29/89

27

ManagementPlanIntroduction

CurrentCondition

Asakarstwatershed,RockymarshRunisveryvulnerablebecauseitpossessesuniquetraitsthat

affecthowitrespondstochangesinlanduse.Whilesurfacedrainageprocessesdominatemost

watersheds,thehigherporosityofakarstwatershedcreatesapredominantlyunderground

drainagesystem. Thiskarstdrainagesystemfunctionstopromptlyabsorbwateracrossthe

landscape,slowlytransportitundergroundwhereitcancooloff,andthenreleaseitthrough

coldwatersprings.Assurfaceandsubsurfacekarsthydrologicprocessesareinterrelated,

changesinsurfacedrainagecanaffectsubsurfacedrainageandviceversa. Thus,modifyinga

karstlandscapethroughdevelopmentmaycausechangesintheundergrounddrainagesystem

byaffectingeitherthesurfacedrainagepatternsorhowmuchwaterflowsintoacertainareaor

both. Thesechangescouldsubsequentlyexpressthemselvesintheformationofnewsinkholes,

pondingofrunoff,orchangesinspringflow.

Themaindifferencesbetweenkarstandnonkarstwatershedsarerunoffandstreamflow

characteristics,groundwatervulnerability,andwatertemperature. Theflatandporouskarst

natureofthewatershedabsorbswaterreadily,resultinginverylittlerunoffandfluctuationin

streamflow. Incontrast,anonkarstwatershedhassubstantiallymorerunoffandwide

variationsinstreamflow,resultinginperiodicflooding. Theabsorptivecapacityofkarst

releaseswaterslowlyandconsequently,akarstwatershedrarelyfloodsalongthestream

channelandhaslittlevariationindepththroughouttheyear. However,rainfallinakarst

watersheddoestendtobackuponthelandscapeduringverywetperiods,causinglocalized

pondingatsitesawayfromthestream.

Theporousnatureoftheundergroundplumbingofkarstandhighseasonalwatertablesrender

thegroundwaterveryvulnerablebecausepercolatingrainwaterisnotaffordedthebenefitof

extensivesoilfiltration,asitisinnonkarstwatersheds.Whereastypicalsurfacedrainage

processestransportwaterquicklyacrossthelandscapeandintoreceivingstreams,karst

processestypicallyabsorbwaterrapidlyunderground,buttherateatwhichtheycandoso

dependsonseasonalgroundwaterlevels. Duringwetperiodswhengroundwaterlevelsare

high,runoffwatertendstobackupasthekarstsystemcanonlyhandlesomuchwaterata

time. Thebestanalogyisthatofapartiallypluggedbathtubdrainwhengroundwaterlevels

risehigh,onlysomuchwatercandrainatatime,thus,asmorewaterfallsasrain,thiscauses

groundwaterlevelstorisehigherandhigher,tothepointwheretheypondonthesurfacein

someareas. Thiscausesthegroundwatertobecomeveryvulnerabletocontamination,

particularlyfromsepticsystems,whosedrainfieldsmaybesubmergedbygroundwaterduring

theseperiods.

Coldwaterstreamsarecharacterizedbyalargeproportionoftheirflowbeingderivedfrom

groundwater. RockymarshRunmaintainsthesecoldwaterinputsbyefficientlycollecting

waterandtransmittingitundergroundwhereitreemergesascoldspringflow. Assurface


30/89

28

runoffprocessesbegintoincreaseindominanceasthelandisdeveloped,thiscausesstream

temperaturestoincreaseviaincreasedinflowsofwarmsurfacerunoffanddecreasedinputsof

coldgroundwaterintothestream.

Intermsofcurrentwatershedcondition,thewatershedisratedinexcellentconditioninregards

towatershedwideimperviouscover(1.7%)andforestcover(51%). However,asmostofthat

forestislocatedawayfromthestreamthewatershedisratedaspoorintermsofriparianforest

cover. Currently,only34%oftheriparianzoneiscoveredbyforest,thewatershedneedsover

twicethecurrentamounttoreceiveagoodratingtoberatedasexcellentwouldrequire77%

riparianforestcover. Anotherfactoraffectingtheconditionofthewatershedisbacterial

contaminationfromseptictanksandlivestockpastures.Whilenotinpristinecondition,

RockymarshRundoesfunctionrelativelywellasacoldwaterecosystem,andwithalittle

restorationcouldreattainitsabilitytosustainBrookTrout. Thecrucialtaskistomaintainthe

naturalfunctionsofthewatershedinthefaceoflandscapechange. Thus,thecurrentstateof

thewatershedisoneonthecusp,wherewegofromherealldependsonourstewardshipofthe

watershed.

Threats

ThedistinctivekarsthydrologyandaquaticecosystemofRockymarshRunarethreatenedby

increaseddevelopmentanditsassociatedincreaseinimpervioussurfaces. Impervioussurfaces

(roofs,roads,andsidewalks)preventwaterfrominfiltratingintothegroundwhereitnormally

would,reducinggroundwaterrechargeanddisruptingthenaturaldrainagepatternsofthe

watershed. TheslowinfiltrationofrainfallinRockymarshRunduringwetseasonsexpresses

itselfasthepondingofwaterincertainlowlyingareasofthewatershed,resultinginhazardsto

farmersandhomeowners. Increasingtheimperviouscoverinthewatershedwillonlyworsen

theproblem. Fillingofsinkholesandcloseddepressionsduringdevelopmentexacerbatesthis

problemevenfurther,asthewaterhasnostreamnetworktoflowintooncethedrainofthe

plumbingisclosed. Furthermore,changingrunoffpatternsthroughmassgradingandadditionofimperviousnessmaycausewatertoinfiltrateintothegroundinnewareasoringreater

quantities,causingshiftsinundergroundflowpatternsthatmayresultinthedevelopmentof

newsinkholesandchangesinspringflow. Finally,developmentmayaffectstreamecologyby

increasingwatertemperaturesanddisruptinghabitatthroughhigherpeakflows. Thus,

changesinthelandscapewilldisturbthehydrology,geology,andecologyofthewatershed.

Thepotentialconsequencesofthesethreatsareincreasedstreamtemperatures,contaminated

groundwater,andincreasedloadsofpollutants. Impervioussurfacescausestreamwater

temperaturestoriseviaincreasedsurfacerunoffofwarmerwateranddecreasedsummertime

streamflows. Adecreaseinsummertimestreamflowwillcausethewatertoheatupeven

more. Thus,thesechangesinhydrologycausedbydecreasesinperviousnessexacerbateeach

otherastheincreaseinrunoffofwarmerwaterisintensifiedbyinstreamwarming.

Furthermore,increasesinpeakstormflowsinRockymarshRunwillcausechangesinthe

streamchannel,wideningitandcuttingdownthebanks. Thiswillincreasesedimentloadsto

theChesapeakeBayandsmotheraquatichabitatinthestream,impairingtheabilityofour


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29

nativebrooktrouttosurvive. Finally,populationincreaseswillalsoresultinmorenutrient

pollutionfromlawnfertilizersandwastewater.

Solutions

The

functions

we

are

in

danger

of

losing

are

the

ability

to

collect

slowly

rainwater

and

transform

itintocoldspringwater,slowlydischargedessentialforthesurvivalofBrookTrout. The

challengeistoretainthesefunctionsinthefaceofachanginglandscape. Thiswillrequiremore

intensemanagementoftheresourceaswellasrestorationtoensurenonetlossofwatershed

function. Sustainingthesefunctionswillrequirehigherstandardsformanagingandmitigating

humanimpactsonthewatershed.ManagementGoals

TheRockymarshRunWatershedManagementPlanseekstopromoteandfacilitate

coordinated,collaborativeactiontoreducepollutantloadssufficienttomeetregional

ChesapeakeBayrestorationresponsibilitieswhileprovidinglocalbenefitsintheformofthe

restorationofareproducingpopulationofBrookTroutandallowingforthedesignatedusesof

thewatershedforrecreationanddrinkingwater. RockymarshRunisawatershedonthecusp,

requiringrestorativeeffortstomeetcurrentwaterqualitygoals,andmaintenanceeffortsto

maintainthesetargetsinthefaceoflandscapechangeproducedbyresidentialdevelopment.

Thismanagementplanseekstoprovidemitigationofmultiplestressorsthroughthe

implementationofpracticesthatprovidemultiplebenefits.Adaptivemanagementwillbe

utilizedtofocusinitialeffortsonareasdesignatedascritical,assessprogress,andadapt

managementstrategiesasnecessary.

TheprimarygoalforwatershedmanagementinRockymarshRunisthereductionofnutrient

andsedimentloadstomeetChesapeakeBaycommitments.Meetingthisgoalwillalsoserveto

achievethesecondarygoalsofBrookTroutrestorationanddrinkingwaterprotection.

Objectives

Reducenutrientandsedimentloadsviaincreaseinriparianforestcover

IndicatorPercentforestcoverin100ftriparianzone

CurrentCondition=34%

TargetCondition=50%

ImplementationGoalPlant48acresofriparianforest

NitrogenLoadReduction=dependentoninitiallanduse

PhosphorusLoadReduction=dependentoninitiallanduse

SedimentLoadReduction=dependentoninitiallanduse

Reducenutrientloadsviapumpingofseptictanks

IndicatorNumberofseptictankspumpedonanannualbasis

CurrentCondition=0

TargetCondition=375

ImplementationGoalPump375septictanksperyear


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30

NitrogenLoadReduction=222pounds

Prioritization

Riparian

Forest

Restoration

Prioritysitesforriparianrestorationwerechosenbasedonexistingriparianforestcover,

landownerwillingness,perennialstreamflow,andstreamtemperaturedata(MapA9).

SepticTankPumping

Todeterminethemosteffectiveareas(intermsofwaterqualityimprovement)forthe

implementationofsepticsystemBMPsandindexofsepticsystemriskwasdeveloped. The

indexwascalculatedusingbuildingdensityweightedbybuildingage,soilsuitability,proximity

toflowingwater,andpresenceoffloodplain(MapA10).

Implementation

OnepriorityriparianbufferrestorationsegmentintheEastForkofRockymarshRunwas

fencedin2009andpartiallyplantedwithtreesin2010. Thissiteissurroundedbypastureand

wasprimarilywetlandwithintheriparianzoneinthepast. Fencingthissitecreated8acresof

riparianbuffer(protecting1,700linearfeetofstream). Alloftheportionsofthebufferthat

werenotwetlandwereplantedintrees. Theloadreductions(basedondatafromthePhase5.3

ChesapeakeBayWatershedModel)forthiseffort(inpoundsperyear)fornitrogen,

phosphorus,andsedimentare87.5,14.2and268.6,respectively.


33/89

APPENDICES

Appendix A Maps

Appendix B Rare Species

Appendix C Annual Water Quality Data

Appendix D Historical Water Quality Data

Appendix E Historical Biological Data

Appendix F Stream Temperature Data

Appendix G Habitat Assessment

Appendix H Fish Species

Appendix I QAQC Report


34/89

AppendixAMaps

A1 Orientation

A2 Geology

A3 Soils

A4 SamplingLocations

A5 LandUse

A6 ForestCover

A7 SocialResources

A8 ImperviousSurfaces

A9 RiparianForestCondition

A10SepticRisk


35/89

State

Route

230

StateRoute9

StateRou

te480

StateRoute45

Rockymarsh Run Watershed

Shepherdstown

Kearneysville

Watershed Boundary

Rockymarsh Run

Scrabble

BERKELEY

COUNTY

JEFFERSONCOUNTY

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Potomac River Watershed


WEST

VIRGINIA


36/89

Spring

Waterway

Road

Fracture TracesCross-Strike

Strike

Faults

Normal

Strike-Slip

Thrust

Folds

Anticline

Overturned Anticline

Overturned Syncline

Syncline

Sinkhole (area < 1,200 sq. meters)

Sinkhole (area > 1,200 sq. meters)Closed Depression

Alluvium

Geologic Formation

Conococheague

Rockdale Run

Stonehenge


Geology


37/89

Scra

bble

Rd

.

Route45

Edgewood

SchoolR

d.

Route480

WarmSpring

Gosling

Marsh

Rd.

Winebre

nnerR

d.

Turner

Rd

.

CedarRd

.

PersimmonLane

BillmyerM

illRd.

VanClevesvilleRd.

ScrabbleR

d.

Gos

ling

Marsh

Rd

.

Scrabble

Rd

.

Route45

Edgewood

SchoolR

d.

Ro

ute480

WarmSpring

Gosling

Marsh

Rd.

Winebre

nnerRd

.

Turner

Rd

.

CedarRd

.

PersimmonLane

BillmyerM

illRd.

VanClevesvilleRd.

ScrabbleR

d.

Gos

ling

Marsh

Rd

.

Soils of Rockymarsh Run Watershed

Watershed Boundary

Rockymarsh Run

Septic System Limitation

Not Rated

Moderately Limited

Very Limited

Soil Series

Udorthents

Quarry

Rock Outcrop

Water

Lappans

Fairplay

Toms

Funkstown

Hagerstown

Vertrees

Duffield

Opequon

Ryder

Poplimento

Holly

Dunning

Swanpond

Oaklet

Watershed Boundary

Rockymarsh Run

Hydric Soil


38/89

Mainstem

East

Fork

West

Fork

Ma

instem

Route45

Route

480

Edgewoo

dSchool

Rd.

ScrabbleRd.

Warm

Spring

s

Goslin

gMars

hRd.

Winebre

nnerRd

.

Turner

Rd

.

SwanPondRd.

CedarRd

.

PersimmonLane

BillmyerM

illRd.

VanClevesvilleRd.

ScrabbleRd.

Scra

bble

Rd

.

G o s l i

n g

M a r s h R d

.

731_001

732_015

733_201

732_136

880_270

880_358733_285

732_055

732_156

731_115

731_206

731_175

731_126

999_010

770_102

732_190

732_111

732_040

733_253

733_202

733_121

880_326

880_295880_289

167_004

245_083

880_100

Sampling Locations (Temperature)

Sampling Locations (Water Chemistry)

Monthly Sampling Location

Spring

Waterway

Perennial

Intermittent

Catchment Boundary

Subwatersheds

Mainstem

East Fork

West Fork

Major Roads

Primary

Secondary

Sampling Locations


DarkHollowBranch


39/89

Watershed Boundary

Waterway

Perennial

IntermittentLand Use

Residential, Rural

Residential, Low Density

Residential, Med. Density

Orchard

Pasture

Grassland/Hay

Cropland

Commercial

Transportation

Barren

Forest

Open Water/Wetland

2007 Land Use



40/89

Scrabble

Rd

.

Route45

Edgewood

SchoolR

d.

Route

480

Warm

Sprin

Gosli

ngMarsh

Rd.

Winebrenn

erRd

.

Turner

Rd

.

CedarRd

.

PersimmonLane

BillmyerMillRd.

VanClevesvilleRd.

ScrabbleRd.

Gos

lingM

arsh

Rd

.

Watershed Boundary

Forest Cover

Waterway

Perennial

Intermittent

Roads

Primary

Secondary

2000 Forest Cover



41/89

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D D

D

D

D

D

DD

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

po

LEISURE ACRES

HORNER

SHENANDOAH FARMS

MUZZEY

HEATHERFIELD

WHITE ROCK FARM

SPRINGS AT SHEPHERDSTOWN

MECKLENBURG HEIGHTS

THE CROFTS AT SHEPHERDSTOWN

DEERFIELD VILLAGE

COZY RETREAT

DARK HOLLOW

LEDGE LOWE

WILLOW SPRING ACRES

HILLCREST

WHISPER KNOLL

AMBLER'S GLEN

PERSIMMON KNOLL

ROCK SPRING ACRES

ScrabbleRd.

Edgewoo

dSchool

Rd.

Ro

ute480

Warm

Spring

Goslin

gMars

hRd.

Winebre

nnerRd

.

Turner

Rd

.

SwanPond Rd.

CedarRd

.

BillmyerM

illRd.

VanClevesvilleRd.

ScrabbleRd.

G o s l i

n g

M a r s h R d

.

Rockymarsh Run Watershed I

po USGS Stream Gage

Watershed BoundaryD

Spring

Waterway

Perennial

Intermittent

Wetland

Subdivision

Historic District

Social Resources

Scrabble

Billmyer Mill


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Watershed Boundary

Catchment Boundary

Waterway

PerennialIntermittent

Impoundment

Imperviousness

Percent

100

1

Impervious Surfaces



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Watershed Boundary

Waterway

Perennial

Intermittent

Priority Buffer Restoration Areas

Percent Riparian Forest (100-ft Buffer)

0.0 - 10.0

10.1 - 30.0

30.1 - 50.0

50.1 - 70.0

70.1 - 100.0

Riparian Forest Condition



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Route45

Rou

te480

Rockymarsh Run

Watershed Boundary

Roads

Primary

Secondary

Analysis Extent

Septic System Risk

High

Low

Septic System Risk in Rockymarsh Run Watershed

Components

of

Septic System Risk

Proximityto

Surface WaterNear

Far

Floodplain

Floodplain

Building Density(weighted by age)

High

Low

Soil Suitability

Low

High


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AppendixB RareSpecies

Group Common Name Scientif ic Name State Rank Global Rank

Reptile Wood Turtle Glyptemys Insculpta S2 G4

Plant Water Horsetail Equisetum Fluviatile S2 G5

Plant Floating Pennywort Hydrocotyle Ranunculoides S2 G5

Plant Baltic Rush Juncus Balticus Var Littoralis S1 G5

Plant Water Smartweed Polygonum Amphibium Var Emersum S2 G5

Plant Hard-Stemmed Bulrush Schoenoplectus Acutus Var Acutus S2 G5

Plant Hooded Skullcap Scutellaria Galericulata S1 G5

STATERANK

S1Fiveorfewerdocumentedoccurrences,orveryfewremainingindividualswithinthe state. Extremelyrareandcriticallyimperiled. S2Sixto20documentedoccurrences,orfewremainingindividualswithinthestate.Veryrareand

imperiled.

S3Twentyoneto100documentedoccurrences.GLOBALRANK

G1Fiveorfewerdocumentedoccurrences,orveryfewremainingindividualsglobally. Extremelyrareandcriticallyimperiled.

G2Sixto20documentedoccurrences,orfewremainingindividualsglobally.Veryrareandimperiled.

G3Twentyoneto100documentedoccurrences.Eitherveryrareandlocalthroughoutitsrangeorfoundlocallyinarestrictedrange.

G4Commonandapparentlysecureglobally,thoughitmayberareinpartsofitsrange,especiallyattheperiphery.

G5Verycommonanddemonstrablysecure,thoughitmayberareinpartsofitsrange,especiallyattheperiphery.


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AppendixC RockymarshRun

WatershedWideSampling

Fall2007

SiteNo. Reach Date Discharge WaterTemp. pH DissolvedOxygen CarbonDioxide Turbidity TotalColiform FecalColiform E.coli (cfs) (C) (units) (mg/L) (mg/L) (NTU) (col/100mL) (col/100mL) (col/100m

731_126 Mainstem_North 10/31/07 4.97 8.3 8.2 11.8 3.0 3 2420 709 344

731_175 Mainstem_North 10/31/07 4.65 7.4 8.3 11.9 2.9 2 2420 982 579

731_206 Mainstem_North 10/31/07 4.45 7.2 8.3 11.9 2.7 3 1733 818 292

732_040 Mainstem_South 10/31/07 3.13 10.0 7.9 10.8 6.2 2 >2420 2100 344

732_111 Mainstem_South 10/31/07 2.74 9.1 8 .1 11.5 4.3 1 2420 390

2010 rockymarsh run baseline assessment

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