Grants and other projects

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Eastern Connecticut Conservation District (ECCD)

Norwich office:
USDA Service Center
238 West Town Street
Norwich, CT 06360-2111
860-887-4163 x3011

Brooklyn office:
P.O. Box 112
139 Wolf Den Road Brooklyn, CT 06234
860-774-8397 x203

You are here: Current Projects

Mashamoquet BrookBaker CoveSpaulding PondWater Quality MonitoringNiantic River Watershed

ECCD awarded a grant to investigate water quality issues in Mashamoquet Brook

Mashamoquet Brook is located in Pomfret, CT. Water from this brook is diverted to a swimming area in Mashamoquet Brook State Park. Water samples from the pond occasionally exceed the safe bacteria threshold limit. In 2010, the ECCD will be investigating this situation and developing recommendations to remedy this problem.

Pomfret Farm Survey – in order to document the current level of farm activity, ECCD developed a survey and is asking Pomfret residents to take a few moments to voluntarily record the number of livestock they keep on their land, plus other relevant information. In the mid-1970s, there were more dairy cows than people in Pomfret. How has that changed? Click here to download a copy of the survey form. Participants are asked to return this form by April 1, 2010.

Volunteer water quality monitoring – in cooperation with The Last Green Valley Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program, the Town of Pomfret and the Northeast District Department of Health, ECCD is recruiting volunteers to participate in a new pilot project. Volunteers will be asked to collect water samples weekly during the summer season. Water samples will be transported to the CT State Department of Health to measure the amount of E. coli in the samples. This information will be helpful to locate the potential sources of contamination into the brook. If you would like to be involved, contact Jean Pillo at 860-928-4948.

This project is supported in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act grant funded through the CT DEP.

ECCD awarded a grant to investigate water quality issues in Baker Cove, Groton, CT

Baker Cove is located in the eastern portion of the Long Island Sound inner estuary. It is bounded by Avery Point and the tip of Pine Island, to the mouth of the Poquonuck River south of the Groton-New London Airport. Occasionally the shellfish beds in the area need to be closed due to bacteria exceeding the safe threshold for direct consumption. This is especially true after it rains. ECCD will be investigating this situation and developing recommendations to remedy this problem.

Volunteers will be recruited in the summer of 2010 to help collect visual assessment data along Birch Plain Creek located at the City of Groton/Town of Groton border. Contact ECCD at 860-877-4163 x 400 if you would like to participate in this project.

This project is supported in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act grant funded through the CT DEP.

ECCD awarded a grant to investigate water quality issues at Spaulding Pond, Norwich

Spaulding Pond is located in Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT. Water samples from the pond occasionally exceed the safe bacteria threshold limit. In 2010, the ECCD will be investigating this situation and developing recommendations to remedy this problem.

This project is supported in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act grant funded through the CT DEP.

The Last Green Valley Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program

Through a cooperative agreement with The Last Green Valley, Inc, ECCD Watershed Conservation Coordinator, Jean Pillo coordinates a water quality monitoring program for volunteers in the 35 towns of the Quinebaug-Shetucket Rivers National Heritage Corridor. Volunteers are provided with free training and equipment.

The Troll Users Group

Volunteers are trained and organized into teams that collect data monthly using an In-situ Troll 9500 multi-parameter probe with a hand held microprocessor. This instrument provides information on the water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen content, turbidity and conductivity. The data is used to establish a baseline of water quality or to identify areas of concern.

Monitoring efforts are underway in the French River and the upper Quinebaug River. We hope to expand this project in the main stem regional rivers as the program grows.

Stream Walk Teams

Volunteers are trained and organized to collect visual assessment data on current in-stream conditions, which is used to complete a data sheet designed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The data provides important information related to potential water quality issues or aquatic habitat concerns.

Volunteers note plant and algae growth, storm water outfalls, fish passage barriers and the condition of the bottom sediments and streamside vegetative cover.

Rapid Bioassessment

Volunteers are trained to collect and identify stream invertebrates which can be excellent indicators of water quality. Voucher samples are provided to the CT DEP and used as part of their biannual water quality assessment report.

An average wadable stream can be assessed in about 2 hours. Consider "adopting" your local stream and check its ability to support fish and other aquatic life annually.

Would you like to become a water quality monitoring volunteer? Contact Jean Pillo for more information.

Niantic River Watershed Coordinator

The Niantic River Watershed is located within four towns: Salem, Montville, Waterford, and East Lyme. The Niantic River is an estuary. Fresh water drains from a small coastal watershed to a tidal embayment where fresh water mixes with the salt water of Long Island Sound. Many people relate to the Niantic River as a body of saltwater that provides access to the Sound and to a rich variety of marine resources. Others make connections to local freshwater streams and ponds through recreational activities such as fishing and swimming. For citizens of Waterford, including Quaker Hill, and New London, the freshwater resources in the watershed provide drinking water to 13,000 homes andbusinesses.

The Niantic River is currently not meeting the Department of Environmental Protection’s water quality standards. It is not supporting aquatic life known to inhabit the estuary in the past. Symptoms of this condition include, algal blooms, seasonal variations in eelgrass populations, loss of scallop populations and changes to the fish communities. The leading suspected cause of the impairment is non-point source pollution.

The CT DEP has given ECCD a grant to coordinate the Niantic River Watershed Working Groups and the four towns involved with the Niantic River to implement the Niantic River Watershed Protection Plan done in 2006. Public support is always necessary to ensure that the recommendations of the protection plan are implemented. To find out more information about the plan, its watershed, the Niantic River Watershed Working Groups, and what you can do in your own backyard, check out the Niantic River Watershed Website.

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