Little Elk Creek Watershed, MD

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Little Elk Creek

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Little Elk Creek locations

 

GPS Locations 1 to 11

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Locations 1-11: Aerial view Location 1: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek - pool and riffles Location 1: Looking upstream on Little Elk Creek with gravel bar and cut bank Location 1: Culvert leading to ditch that drains into Little Elk Creek
Location 1: Ditch with iron stained water, draining into Little Elk Creek Location 9: Looking upstream on Little Elk Creek at healthy riparian vegetation Location 11: Drainage ditch entering Little Elk Creek, looking NNE
Location 2: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek Location 2: Great blue heron tracks in bed of Little Elk Creek Location 3: Looking upstream on Little Elk Creek with large woody debris Location 4: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek - high vegetated bank (6-8 feet)

Little Elk Creek is quite impressive in this reach, in spite of the proximity to the Triumph Industrial Park.  The creek is approximately 20 m wide (60 feet).  Tall deciduous trees and shrubs are present on both banks and effectively shield buildings and paved areas from view.  During the walk between locations 1 and 11 the team noted gravel bars in Little Elk Creek, a series of meanders with cut banks and point bars, and a healthy band of trees and shrubs on both sides of the creek.  The cut banks vary in height from 1.2 to 2.5 m (4 to 8 feet).  The creek has a series of pools and riffles with water depths in the 0.3 to 1 m (1 to 3 foot) range.  In this reach of the creek, the bed materials are predominantly gravel and cobbles.  Further upstream, there is a section of the bed with exposed bedrock.  Several trees had fallen into the creek from the banks, adding complexity to the system.  Some of the downed trees appeared to be quite fresh with healthy leaves; a recent significant storm may have caused the bank undercutting that felled the trees.  The team later heard from residents that there had been a significant storm within the last month or so, which may have caused bank undercutting that felled the trees.

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Location 5: Looking upstream at 'tulip' Poplar on Little Elk Creek from under power lines Location 5: Sandy point bar on Little Elk Creek looking downstream Location 6: 12-in. stormwater outfall on Little Elk Creek Location 8: Concrete thrust block with 18-in. clogged culvert at downstream end of rock embankment
Location 8: Rock embankment with blue AKC buildings in background Location 8: Failing section of rock wall bank protection at upstream end Location 9: Taking GPS reading on Little Elk Creek Location 9: High cut bank with bedrock at base, covered with cobbles and then sand
Location 10: Bedrock in bed of Little Elk Creek (whitish yellow sandstone) Location 11: Bridge over Little Elk Creek looking upstream Location 11: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek at trees and sandy bank Location 11: Large woody debris in Little Elk Creek

There was very little anthropogenic debris in this stretch of Little Elk Creek and the adjacent riparian zone.  The team crossed a drainage ditch entering the creek from the north, which had a low flow of heavily iron-stained water.  The ditch came from the Triumph Industrial Park, but the field team could not track the ditch back to its source.  Further upstream, the team observed a rock wall on the right bank (all references to right and left bank are based on looking downstream).  The wall is constructed out of quarried rock stacked 1.2 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 feet) high (photo).  There is a concrete thrust block on the downstream end, which had a dirt-filled pipe sticking out toward the creek.  Several of the quarry rocks on the upstream side are displaced and falling into the creek.  This rock wall could be replaced with bioengineered bank protection but it represents a small fraction of the reach of Little Elk Creek as observed from this location.

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GPS Location 26

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Location 26: Aerial view Location 26: Point bar on Little Elk Creek looking upstream Location 26: Looking upstream at Little Elk Creek from north side of US 40 Location 26: Piers and columns on Little Elk Creek and US 40 Location 26: Concrete filled sandbags protecting bridge embankment
Location 26: Northern water snake Location 26: Looking upstream at Little Elk Creek with US 40 bridge in background

Location 26 is where Little Elk Creek crosses under a large bridge for US 40.  There were no flow obstructions at this location and except for erosion protection associated with the bridge abutment, the creek appeared to be in good condition.  The creek was 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 feet) wide and 0.3 to 1 m (1 to 3 feet) deep.  The span of the bridge is quite wide, leaving plenty of room for high flow channels on the east side of the main channel.  The riparian zone upstream and downstream of the bridge was wide and healthy.

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GPS Locations 28 to 30

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Location 28 to 30: Aerial view Location 28: Looking upstream under Oldfield Point Road bridge Location 28: Looking downstream at Little Elk Creek with impaired riparian zone Location 28: Looking upstream under Oldfield Point Road bridge
Location 30: Looking at Little Elk Creek upstream of Oldfield Point Road bridge with impaired riparian zone
Location 30: Looking at Little Elk Creek upstream of Oldfield Point Road bridge with impaired riparian zone Location 30: Osprey overhead Location 30: Osprey diving for fish

Location 30 is where Little Elk Creek crosses under the Old Field Road bridge.  The bridge is supported by one mid-span pier with a sand bar on the downstream side and large woody debris on the upstream side.  There were houses on the left bank both upstream and downstream, which had large lawns extending all the way to the creek's edge.  The creek was approximately 30 m (100 feet) wide with a cut bank on the right bank and a gently sloping left bank.  The diversity of the riparian vegetation improved both upstream and downstream of the residences.

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GPS Location 34

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Location 34: Aerial view Location 34: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek from below I-95 Location 34: Looking upstream from under I-95 bridge

Location 34 is where Interstate 95 crosses over Little Elk Creek, just downstream of the SR 545 crossing.  The bank is heavily protected with riprap under the crossing and the substrate seems to contain many pieces of riprap that presumably washed out of the bank protection structures in the past.  Approximately 30 m (100 feet) downstream of the I-95 bridge, trees and shrubs are present in the riparian zone, and substrate in the creek transitions to natural materials.  There are trees on both creek banks although the riparian zone on the right bank is narrow and agricultural fields were visible through the trees.  There are cobbles in a bar on the right bank between SR 545 and I-9, and the riparian zone vegetation appears to be well developed further upstream.

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GPS Location 35

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Location 35: Area map Spectron Site plan Location 35: Looking upstream at dam on Little Elk Creek at Providence Location 35: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek from Providence Location 35: Looking downstream on Little Elk Creek from Providence Location 35: Galaxy Spectron groundwater treatment plant Location 35: Galaxy Spectron groundwater treatment plant Location 35: Galaxy Spectron groundwater treatment plant

(Approx. 2 miles north of the area shown on the top map.)  Location 35 is at the Spectron Superfund Location where Providence Road crosses Little Elk Creek.  Historical groundwater contamination from the Spectorn/Galaxy site had leached into Little Elk Creek, prompting regulatory agencies into action.  In addition to pump-and-treat to control the groundwater plume, the remedy included installation of a plastic liner in the creek bed to stop discharge of contaminated groundwater into the creek.  At the time of the visit, the creek appeared to be in good condition and was approximately 8 m (25 feet) wide.  A dam with a 2.5 to 3 m (8 to 10 foot) drop is located just upstream of the stopping point.  According to information available at the time, another flow obstruction was located just downstream of Providence Road, but a by-pass has been constructed around the east side of that blockage.

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GPS Locations 41 and 42

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Locations 41 and 42: Aerial view Location 41: SR 279 bridge over Little Elk Creek Location 41: SR 279 bridge over Little Elk Creek Location 41: Little Elk Creek looking upstream from SR 279 (left bank) Location 41: High water channel on upstream of SR 279 (right bank) Location 41: Sand riffles in bed of Little Elk Creek from SR 279 bridge Location 41: Cut bank and point bar in Little Elk Creek from SR 279 bridge Location 42: Little Elk Creek looking downstream from SR 279 bridge - good riparian zone, quarry spall barb in creek Location 42: Little Elk Creek looking downstream from SR 279 bridge - good riparian zone, quarry spall barb in creek Location 42: Little Elk Creek looking downstream from SR 279 bridge - quarry spalls in high water side channel (buried utilities?)

Locations 41 and 42 are where Little Elk Creek passes under State Route 279 at a wide bridge.  The riparian zone was mowed grasses for 30 m (100 feet) or so up and downstream of the bridge and forest beyond that distance.  In the downstream direction, there is a cobble bar on the right bank and tree branches hanging over the creek, providing shade.  There is also a linear feature oriented perpendicular to the stream channel, constructed of 8 to 12 inch angular rock, the purpose of which may be to protect a buried utility.  Upstream, the left bank is gently sloped with cobbles in the bank and large woody debris in and adjacent to the creek.  The upstream right bank is about 1 m (3 feet) tall and well vegetated.  A high-flow channel re-enters the main channel just upstream of the bridge.  The substrate of the active channel is predominantly sand.

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GPS Location 50

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Location 50: Aerial view Location 50: Little Elk Creek just upstream of confluence with Big Elk Creek Location 50: Signage at Elkton historical site Location 50: Little Elk Creek just upstream of confluence with Big Elk Creek

Location 50 is a site with historical buildings on the left bank of Little Elk Creek, approximately 150 m (1/10 of a mile) upstream from the confluence of Little and Big Elk Creeks.  The creek was at least 30 m (100 feet) wide and appeared to be tidally influenced.  The left bank slopes gently to the water and is fairly muddy; the right bank is near vertical and about 0.6 m (2 feet) tall.  The substrate is fine-grained. Phragmites dominated the right bank and mowed lawn dominated the left bank.  Trees form a riparian buffer further downstream where Big Elk Creek comes in from the left.

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Page Updated 7/12/2005