NOAA ENC

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US4MD1DB - POTOMAC RIVER - PISCATAWAY CREEK TO WASHINGTON, D.C.  


INDEX:

NOTE A
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
POLLUTION REPORTS
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
COMMENTS REQUESTED
CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AUTHORITIES	
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
CAUTION - USACE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS	
RADAR REFLECTORS	
NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
RACING BUOYS
SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS
CAUTION - ALL CRAFT
CAUTION - SMALL CRAFT
CAUTION - WARNING CONCERNING LARGE VESSELS
PUBLIC BOATING INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
RULES OF THE ROAD (ABRIDGED)
MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS
CAUTION - FISH TRAP AREAS AND STRUCTURES	
OYSTER AQUACULTURE
ADMINISTRATION AREA
SPEED REGULATION


NOTES:

NOTE A
Navigation regulations are published in Chapter 2, U.S. Coast Pilot 3. Additions or revisions to Chapter 2 are published in the Notice to Mariners. Information concerning the regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander,5th Coast Guard District in Portsmouth, Virginia or at the Office of the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers in Baltimore, Maryland.
Refer to charted regulation section numbers.	


AIDS TO NAVIGATION
Consult U.S. Coast Guard Light List for supplemental information concerning aids to navigation.


POLLUTION REPORTS 
Report all spills of oil and hazardous substances to the National Response Center via 1-800-424-8802 (toll free), or to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard facility if telephone communication is impossible (33 CFR 153).


CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS) 
Limitations on the use of radio signals as aids to marine navigation can be found in the U.S. Coast Guard Light Lists and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Publication 117.
Radio direction-finder bearings to commercial broadcasting stations are subject to error and should be used with caution.


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION 
Consult U.S. Coast Pilot 3 for important supplemental information.	


CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
Temporary changes or defects in aids to navigation are not indicated. See Local Notice to Mariners.
During some winter months or when endangered by ice, certain aids to navigation are replaced by other types or removed. For details see U.S. Coast Guard Light List.


WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids. See U.S. Coast Guard Light List and U.S. Coast Pilot for details. 


WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
Real-time water levels, tide predictions, and tidal current predictions are available on the internet from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) at https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/water_level_info.html and https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents_info.html .


COMMENTS REQUESTED
NOAA encourages users to submit inquiries, discrepancies, or comments about this chart via NOAA's ASSIST tool at https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist/.


CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
The areas represented by the object M_QUAL (Quality of data) are approximate due to generalizing for clarity. Caution is advised, particularly for nearshore navigation or voyage planning. M_QUAL represents areas of uniform quality of bathymetric data. The CATZOC (Category of zone of confidence in data) attribute of M_QUAL provides an assessment of the overall zone of confidence.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information can be obtained at www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov


AUTHORITIES
Hydrography and Topography by the National Ocean Service, Coast Survey, with additional data from the Corps of Engineers, Geological Survey, and U.S. Coast Guard.


CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
Additional uncharted submarine pipelines and submarine cables may exist within the area of this chart. Not all submarine pipelines and submarine cables are required to be buried, and those that were originally buried may have become exposed. Mariners should use extreme caution when operating vessels in depths of water comparable to their draft in areas where pipelines and cables may exist, and when anchoring, dragging, or trawling.
Covered wells may be marked by lighted or unlighted buoys.


CAUTION - USACE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS
USACE conducts hydrographic surveys to monitor navigation conditions. These surveys are not intended to detect underwater features. Undetected features hazardous to surface navigation may exist in federal channels, as might shoaling, particularly along the edges of channels. For more information visit https://navigation.usace.army.mil/Survey/Hydro/ .


RADAR REFLECTORS 
Radar reflectors have been placed on many floating aids to navigation. Individual radar reflector identification on these aids has been omitted from this chart.	


NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
The NOAA Weather Radio stations listed below provide continuous weather broadcasts.
The reception range is typically 20 to 40 nautical miles from the antenna site, but can be as much as 100 nautical miles for stations at high elevations.

Washington, DC		WNG-736		162.450 MHz
Baltimore, MD		KEC-83		162.400 MHz
Sudlersville, MD	WXK-97		162.500 MHz
Manassas, VA		KHB-36		162.550 MHz


RACING BUOYS 
Racing buoys within the limits of this chart are not shown hereon. Information may be obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard District Offices as racing and other private buoys are not all listed in the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.


SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS 
During the boating season small-craft warnings will be displayed from sunrise to sunset on Maryland Marine Police Cruisers while underway in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries.


CAUTION - ALL CRAFT
All craft should avoid areas where the skin divers flag, a red square with a diagonal white stripe, is displayed.


CAUTION - SMALL CRAFT
Small craft should stay clear of large commercial and government vessels even if small craft have the right-of-way.


CAUTION - WARNING CONCERNING LARGE VESSELS
The "Rules of the Road" state that recreational boats shall not impede the passage of a vessel that can navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway. Large vessels may appear to move slowly due to their large size but actually transit at speeds in excess of 12 knots, requiring a great distance in which to maneuver or stop. A large vessel's superstructure may block the wind with the result that sailboats and sailboards may unexpectedly find themselves unable to maneuver. Bow and stern waves can be hazardous to small vessels. Large vessels may not be able to see small craft close to their bows.


PUBLIC BOATING INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
The United States Power Squadron (USPS) and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGAUX) national organizations of boatmen, conduct extensive boating instruction programs in communities throughout the United States. For information regarding these educational courses, contact the following sources:
USPS - Local Squadron Commander of USPS Headquarters, Post Office Box 30423, Raleigh, N.C. 27612, 919-821-0281. USCGAUX - 1st Coast Guard District, 408 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 02110-2209, Tel. 617-223-8310 or USCG Headquarters (G - BAU), Washington D.C. 20593-0001


RULES OF THE ROAD (ABRIDGED)
Motor less craft have the right-of-way in almost all cases.
Sailing vessels and motorboats less than twenty meters / sixty-five feet in length shall not hamper, in a narrow channel, the safe passage of a vessel which can navigate only inside that channel.
A motorboat being overtaken has the right-of-way.
Motorboats approaching head to head or nearly so should pass port to port.
When Motorboats approach each other at right angles or obliquely, the boat on the right has the right-of-way in most cases.
Motorboats must keep to the right in narrow channels when safe and practicable.
Mariners are urged to become familiar with the complete text of the Rules of the Road in U.S. Coast Guard publication "Amalgamated International & U.S. Inland Navigation Rules".


MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE	TELEPHONE NUMBER	OFFICE HOURS
Baltimore, MD/ 			*(703) 260-0107		24 Hours daily
Washington, DC	
Wakefield, VA			*(757) 899-4200		24 Hours daily
*Recorded 


CAUTION - FISH TRAP AREAS AND STRUCTURES
Mariners are warned that numerous uncharted duck blinds and fishing structures, some submerged, may exist in the fish trap areas. Such structures are not charted unless known to be permanent. Regulations to assure clear passage to and through dredged and natural channels, and to established landings, are prescribed by the Corps of Engineers in the Code of Federal Regulations.


OYSTER AQUACULTURE
Oyster bed aquaculture leases may exist within the limits of this chart. Mariners are cautioned that numerous markers may exist and watermen may be active in the area. Caution should be exercised when navigating in or near these areas, not to anchor or ground, in order to avoid damage to the beds. Depths may be shallower than the soundings shown. For more information, contact the local department of natural resources.


ADMINISTRATION AREA
The entire extent of this ENC cell falls within the limits of an Administration Area. This area covers land, internal waters, and territorial sea. The territorial sea is a maritime zone over which the United States exercises sovereignty extending to the airspace as well as to its bed and subsoil. For more information, please refer to the Coast Pilot.


SPEED REGULATION
No vessel shall be propelled or operated at a greater rate than nine kilometers / six statute miles per hour in the Potomac River upstream from the Arlington Memorial Bridge, in the Washington Channel upstream from Haines Point, in the Anacostia River upstream from Greenleaf Point to the Benning Road Bridge, nor within or bordering any of the anchorage areas; nor shall any vessel be propelled or operated at a greater rate than sixteen kilometers / ten statute miles per hour when passing the wharf area of Alexandria, Virginia, except in case of emergency.


END OF FILE