A watershed signage dedication event will be held Saturday, Mar. 31 beginning at 10 a.m. at Morgan’s Grove Park. The event, hosted by the Jefferson County Water Advisory Committee and officiated by Sen. Herb Snyder, will help to promote awareness of all watersheds in the area and their importance to residents in and outside of Jefferson County.

Signs will be placed at four watershed locations throughout the county, noting the existence of designated watershed areas. Included are the Blue Ridge Watershed which comprises approximately 24 square miles which is also part of the Shenandoah River watershed and eventually part of the Potomac as well.

Elks Run Watershed is described as running nearly eight miles from the Buckles’ farm on Route 9 to the Potomac River below Bolivar Heights.

Along with its tributary, Elk Branch, these two streams collect the rain and snow which fall on the ground and come up in springs, over an area of approximately 18 square miles.

The Evitts Run Watershed flows about 10 miles from the Washington homestead Harewood Estate on Route 51 through the west end of Charles Town, along the south side of town past the sewage treatment plant, eventually discharging into the Shenandoah River. Once used as the water supply for the town, the stream is now regularly stocked with trout by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Near its headwaters in the Altona Marsh is a protected wetland which overlays ground of soft limestone mixed with clay, called marl.

The final watershed defined during Saturday’s signage presentation is the Town Run Watershed where more than six natural springs feed into before the Run enters town on the south end. With a total length of just over three miles, it never floods, nor runs dry. Once known as Falling Spring Branch, the Town Run provides an alternative source of potable water for the town as well as a visual delight as it meanders along the railroad tracks through the backyards of Shepherdstown. One of the springs is in Morgan’s Grove Park where the dedication will take place.

The signs were made possible through a grant given by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services ito the Jefferson County Water Advisory Committee.