The District supports watershed management projects focused on protection and
restoration through community-based local action. Currently the District is
involved in watershed management projects in the Mattabesset River watershed and
the
Eightmile River watershed.
Mattabesset River Watershed
The District has been working since 1992 on a long-term project to improve water
quality conditions of the Mattabesset River, with the ultimate goal of restoring
the river to fishable and swimmable conditions.
Assessment activities undertaken by the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) and the District’s Connecticut River Watch Program have documented
high levels of bacteria and the nutrient phosphorus, both from chronic sources and
due to runoff; high turbidity associated with storm events; and a degraded aquatic
invertebrate community. See
The Mattabesset River—A Study of Water Quality and
Stream Health in
District publications
for more information. Due to poor water quality and habitat alteration, the
Mattabesset River is on the DEP’s impaired waters list.
Through a community-led process, the District coordinated development of the
Management Plan for the Mattabesset River Watershed in 2002, detailing goals,
objectives and tasks designed to protect the River and improve its health.
Efforts in the Mattabesset Watershed have since been focused on implementing the
management plan in cooperation with other watershed stakeholders.
Activities have included:
- Education and outreach to streamside landowners
- Stormwater management and pollution prevention planning
- Ongoing water quality monitoring
- Tracking sources of bacterial contamination in streams
- Streambank restoration
- Development of public access areas
See the list of
District publications
supporting these efforts.
Recently completed on-the-ground improvement projects include establishing a vegetated buffer on Hatchery Brook
in Berlin, and addressing impacts of stormwater discharges to Railroad Pond in Berlin. The District is also
working on a water quality restoration project with the City of New Britain in Willow Brook Park.
In 2006 the District began conducting
Track Down Surveys, a new field screening method for locating
the causes and sources of water quality impairments. Using a modified version of the
Center for Watershed Protection’s Unified Stream Assessment (USA) protocol, District
staff and interns began by conducting Track Down Surveys in several streams in the Mattabesset
identified as “hot-spots”: Coles Brook (Cromwell), and Little Brook (Rocky Hill and Berlin). The
information is being used to identify specific restoration projects and strategies for each
stream assessed. The District has continued to use these field screening methods in subwatersheds throughout the
Mattabesset as part of the District’s overall effort to address water quality impairments through
on-the-ground restoration and education. 2007 areas of focus included Willow and Chestnut Brooks in Cromwell.
In 2007, the District also conducted a
Comparative Subwatershed Analysis of the Mattabesset, also using
a Center for Watershed Protection method. This GIS-based assessment method is designed to screen smaller subwatersheds
within a larger regional watershed to identify those with the greatest restoration potential, and will help prioritize future
restoration and improvement activities. For more information, see
The Mattabesset
River Watershed Comparative Subwatershed Analysis: Developing a Framework for Watershed Restoration in the Mattabesset.
Funding for work in the Mattabesset has come primarily from the DEP through US EPA Clean Water Act
Section 319 nonpoint source grants, with additional funding from a grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund administered
by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Eightmile River Watershed
The District assisted the National Park Service supported Eightmile River Wild and
Scenic Study Committee in obtaining Wild and Scenic River status for the Eightmile River.
Under collaborative agreements, the District provided Geographic Information System (GIS)
staff and services, and outreach and education support to the Study Committee.
In support of local watershed management efforts, the District has also co-sponsored a
vernal pool identification and verification program in the three major watershed towns,
East Haddam, Lyme and Salem, and assisted in documenting water quality and watershed
health through the Connecticut River Watch Program.
Recent efforts have focused on supporting the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Coordinating
Committee with outreach and education efforts.
