Little Seneca Lake

Little Seneca Lake is a reservoir located near the Boyds community in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Little Seneca Lake
March 2008
Little Seneca Lake Show map of Maryland Little Seneca Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Boyds, Maryland
Coordinates	39.18799°N 77.306671°W / 39.18799; -77.306671
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Little Seneca Creek
Primary outflows	Little Seneca Creek
Catchment area	21 square miles (54 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	505 acres (204 ha)
Average depth	24.7 ft (7.5 m)
Max. depth	68 ft (21 m)
Water volume	4.5 billion US gallons (17,000,000 m3)
Surface elevation	384 feet (117 m)[1]

Overview

The surface area of the lake is 505 acres (2.04 km²). The average depth is 24.7 feet (7.5 m) with a maximum depth of 68 feet (21 m).^[2] The capacity of the lake is 4.5 billion gallons (17 million m³).^[3]

The lake was created by the construction of a dam on Little Seneca Creek. It was built to provide an emergency water supply for the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and it also provides a recreational amenity for the public.^[4]

Drinking water supply

Oblique air photo of Little Seneca Lake, facing west on 1 August 2011.

The lake was completed in 1984 and the water supply dam is operated by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC).^[3] WSSC shares the drinking water resource with two adjacent public water suppliers, the Washington Aqueduct and the Fairfax County Water Authority.^[5][6]

Recreational facilities

The lake is located in Black Hill Regional Park. Fishing and boating facilities are available at the park. The lake is stocked for recreational fishing. Fish species found in the lake include largemouth bass, tiger muskie, channel catfish, sunfish, perch and crappie.^[7]

See also

• Seneca Creek