JONES FALLS

FOUND!

Another www.RobertDyer.net Exclusive!!!

I had an Indiana Jones moment last Friday. In Lutherville. At Johns Hopkins Green Spring Station, I found the falls from which Falls Road gets its name.

It was about 20 degrees, and my ears, jaw and neck weren't just frozen - they were hurting. It was the kind of weather when even the tough and fashionable are forced to wear hoods. You know it's bad when you see people with hoods up.

I walked past the shopping mall near the edge of the Johns Hopkins property, and heard the sound of water. I crossed a wooden bridge and discovered a fast-moving stream pouring over many waterfalls.

Naturally, I took out my cellphone and took a video of my discovery to share with you on the Robert Dyer Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OnbW9W-seI

This is actually Deer Run stream, or Deer Run Falls, which descends through the western edge of the Green Spring Station development. The water is pretty clear. Regular readers know I've been uncovering environmental catastrophes in the Little Falls watershed, and monitoring others around the county, including Clarksburg, Seneca, Damascus, Rock Creek, and others.

I don't have any data on Deer Run to know whether Baltimore County has done more to protect its streams than Montgomery has. So I can't make an authoritative statement on the water quality.

But I can tell you that Deer Run continues south/southwest, where it meets... ...Jones Falls! (This is where the Jones Falls Expressway got its name). And Jones Falls travels southeast and empties into Lake Roland. Lake Roland eventually sends the water south into Baltimore city.

Streams are fascinating in a different way from rivers. Rivers make a bold statement. I'll never forget seeing the Mississippi River, which makes the Potomac seem like a stream in comparison.

Streams meander and hide, traveling underground, and many times through manmade concrete pipes and drainage systems. You can even see one of those at the beginning of the video. These fabricated additions are usually part of a stormwater management system.

Much like Little Falls, Deer Run and Jones Falls appear and disappear as they make their way toward Lake Roland.

You have to seek them out, but they are there. For now.

We have a lot of work to do to clean up the watersheds in Montgomery County. Stronger enforcement is needed to prosecute those who litter and dump toxic waste and garbage. Better controls are needed to nullify the effects of runoff from development (Beware: Gov. Martin O'Malley and some in the General Assembly are beholden to developers, and are plotting to revoke new rules that would reduce that runoff contamination! Follow those developments in Annapolis, and call your legislator and the Governor's office to protect our waterways). And more funds are needed. I'm working on a new initiative for Montgomery County watersheds, so stay tuned for that and a lot more this year at RobertDyer.net.

For now, enjoy the video!