Farmington+River

 **Farmington River** **Drainage Basin: Connecticut ** toc

=1. About this Watershed= 

The Farmington River of northwest Connecticut and southwest Massachusetts takes its name from the Town of Farmington, where the channel sharply turns north. ([|Click for Map]) (10) Starting in Becket, MA to its final convergence with the Connecticut River in Windsor, CT, the river covers 81 miles, flowing in all four cardinal directions, the only river in the Northern Hemisphere to do so.

The Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA) ([]) is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the Farmington River and its watershed. According to the FRWA, the Farmington River Watershed’s reservoirs and aquifers cover 609 square miles, and provide clean drinking water to one-third of the Connecticut population.2] In addition, the river is a favorite among recreational seekers, especially the 14-mile segment from Colebrook to Canton, ([|Map of Wild and Scenic]) which in 1994 was designated by Congress as Wild & Scenic, a program initiated by Congress in 1968 to preserve our Nation's most pristine rivers (Public Law 90-542; 16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.)2](3)(8)

1a. Map of watershed
For Farmington River maps click [|here].

=2. Geology= The shape of the Farmington River has changed significantly due to its geologic history. During the glacial epoch, the entire river system was buried beneath ice. As the ice sheet retreated it left glacial till along the Farmington River and its many tributaries causing the river to change its course. Today, the river winds through three main geologic terranes before emptying in the Connecticut River.

The North Western part of the river’s geology is composed of the Proto-North American (Continental) terrane, which includes rocks such as schist and gneiss (including some granite gneiss). The Central part of the river’s geology is composed of the Iapetos (Oceanic) terrane, which again contains schist and gneiss rocks. The most Eastern part of the river’s geology is composed of the Newark (Hartford basin) terrane. Unlike the North Western and Central parts of the river, the Eastern part contains classic sedimentary rocks (redbeds: conglomerate of, arkosic sandstone, and shale) as well as Basalt (lava flows) and dolerite (dikes and sills). (4).

=3. Hydrology= Pre glacial- “The river flowed from the vicinity Congamuck ponds directly south through Farmington, Plainville, Southington, and Cheshire and entered the Sound at New Haven." Interestingly, the Quinnipiac and Mill River are portions of the pre-glacial Farmington. (5)

Glacial epoch- The river was covered by a giant ice sheet and when the ice sheet melted it damned the river and formed many lakes which disrupted its natural flow. When the glacial ice melted, the river was damned at Cheshire and thus no longer able to flow into Long Island Sound through New Haven. The Farmington river turned east and formed the Quinnipiac gorge.(5)  List of Farmington River Connecticut Tributaries- ( [] ) <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Cherry Brook, Hop Brook, Nod Brook, Thompson Brook, Mill Brook, Morgan Brook, Burlington Brook, Nepaug River, Pequabuck River, Roaring Brook, Salmon Brook, Sandy Brook, Still River, Mad River, and Slocum Brook. (9)

There are 6 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) flow meters along the Farmington River. One in New Boston, Massachusetts and five in Connecticut at Riverton, The Still River at Robertsville Road, Burlington, Unionville, and Tarrifville. This website is provided for the Riverton USGS site []. (15)

= = =4.History= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">In 1820, the waters of the Farmington River were significantly polluted from industrial usage. Huge tracts of forest were cleared to make way for paper mills, cotton mills, saw mills, and tanneries, which dumped waste water and sewage into the Farmington River and its estuaries. This significantly reduced the trout population and the river was deemed unsuitable for swimmers. By the end of the 19th century, once industrialization of the river declined, the river’s health improved.

More dramatic improvements occurred in the 1950’s. In 1953, the Farmington River Watershed Association a non-profit environmental organization was established, and set out to protect and restore the natural resources of the river, its watershed, and its tributaries. After the devastating flood in 1955, large sewage treatment plants were built on the river in the 1960’s. This greatly reduced the level of untreated sewage entering the river system.

In 1972, significant amendments were made to the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act established a set of regulations for discharging pollutants into U.S. bodies of water. "Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained. EPA's [|National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)] permit program controls discharges." ( <span style="font-size: 110%; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; msobidifontfamily: Arial;">33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq.) (16)

In 1994 a 14-mile segment of the Farmington River received federal Wild & Scenic designation. This is the only river in Connecticut, and one of only six in New England, with such a designation 1]

=5. Human Use & Impact= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">These Connecticut towns are located on the Farmington River Watershed: Avon Barkhamsted Bloomfield Bristol Burlington Canton Colebrook East Granby Farmington Granby Hartland Harwinton New Hartford Norfolk Plainville Plymouth Simsbury Suffield Torrington West Hartford Winchester/Winsted Windsor Windsor Locks

Over 600,000 people living on this watershed use the Farmington River as their sole drinking water source. This is why it is so crucial to keep these waters clean. There are currently 9 waste water treatment plants located on the river. The river is also home to over 409 dams in the Connecticut portion of the river alone some of which support hydropower generation(2). Below are images of two dams that mark the beginning of the River in Connecticut. (Figure 2. Colebrook Dam. Photograph by David Oshana)

(Figure 3. Hogback Dam. Photograph by David Oshana)

=6. Flora (Plants)= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">The Farmington River flows through many towns in Connecticut and has a wide variety of flora. The Farmington River Basin has 26,823 acres of deciduous forest which covers 36.8% of the basin and 14,806 acres of coniferous forest which covers 20.5% of the basin.(14) One particular flora of interest on the Farmington River is Connecticut’s largest tree, the Pinchot Sycamore. It is the largest sycamore in New England and one of the largest in the country. When the tree was last measured in 1998, it measured 26 feet in diameter and 95 feet in height. It is found on the banks of the River near route 185 in Simsbury. (6) =7. Fauna (Animals)= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Of note, the Farmington River is host to 9 species of fresh water mussels and the Southern New England stronghold of dwarf wedge mussel. As the Farmington River flows through the Wild and Scenic portion of the river it is home to Bald Eagles, otters, and Atlantic Salmon.(2) In fact, the Farmington River Valley is the only place in Connecticut with nesting Bald Eagles.(7)  =8. Lesson Plans & Field Studies=

=9. Personal Stories= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">If you are looking for the beginning of the Farmington River in CT turn right on Eino Hill Road off of Route 8 North in Hartland. Don’t bother looking for Hogback Dam signs because the locals have a variety of names for this dam. While at the huge Colebrook Dam searching for the Hogbrook, we were approached by a friendly reservoir manager who was patrolling the dam. We asked, “Where is the Hogback Dam?” he replied, “See that dam way over there? That’s the Hogback which also goes by three other names.”

=10. Community Groups= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">There are many community groups that are actively involved with the Farmington River. Below is a list of helpful links.

The Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA) A non-profit environmental organization providing the community with research, education, and advocacy programs in an effort to “protect and preserve the Farmington River and its watershed forever." []

The Farmington River Anglers Association (FRAA) Mission: "Preserve, Protect, and Enhance the Farmington River Fishery" [|http://fraa.org]

Lower Farmington River & Salmon Brook Wild & Scenic Study A site dedicated to providing information about the FRWA's continuing pursuit of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers designation for the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook. [|http://www.lowerfarmingtonriver.org] = = = = =11. Recreation= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">The Farmington River has many different recreational activities such as trout fishing, tubing, canoeing, and kayaking. The Wild and Scenic portion of the river f rom Colebrook to Canton (West Branch and part of main stem), []) (7) provides the public with access to a pristine portion where otters, Atlantic Salmon, and even nesting Bald Eagles may be found.

Another form of recreation on the Farmington River is the Farmington River Trail. The Farmington River Trail is 16 miles long and runs through the towns of Farmington through Unionville, Burlington, Collinsville and Canton. The trail also connects with the Farmington Valley Greenway in both Farmington and Simsbury to form a 26 mile loop. The Farmington River Trail was built on old railroad beds and provides trail use for walkers, runners, cyclists, and in-line skaters (11).

The Farmington Valley Greenway is a 26-mile multi-use trail running through these five towns of Central Connecticut; Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, East Granby, and Suffield. The trail also connects to many more walking and biking trails. It is a ten-foot wide, wheelchair accessible trail designed for walking, jogging, biking, inline skating. Motorized vehicles are not allowed (12). Map of Valley Greenway ([]) (13).

(Figure 4. Wild and Scenic signage. Photograph by David Oshana)

=12. Related Links= <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|http://www.frwa.org] [|http://www.rivers.gov] [|http://farmingtonriver.org] [] = = =13. Notes/Sources= <span style="font-size: 110%; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">1."State of the Farmington River Watershed Report". 2003. Farmington River Watershed Association. [] 6/26/09. 2. The Farmington River Watershed Association. []. 6/26/09 <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">3. The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.[|http://www.rivers.gov].6/28/09 4. The Department of Environmental Protection.1990. Connecticut geological and national history survey, __Generalized Bedrock geologic Map of Connecticut__. Department of Environmental Protection. Reprinted in 1996. 5. Rice W.,Gregory H., 1908 State Geological and Natural History Survey, __Bibliography of the State of Connecticut__. State of Connecticut Public Document. Volume 11, Bulletins 6-12 pp. 251-254 6. Hill, E. The Biggest Tree. []. 6/25/09. 7. FarmingtonRiver.org, Wild and Scenic pdf. [] 6/29/09 8. Lowerfarmingtonriver.org. Wild and Scenic [] 6/30/09 9. The Farmington River Watershed Association.Farmington River Drainage Basins. [] 7/2/09. 10.The Connecticut Water Trails Program. The Farmington River Watershed. [] 7/2/09 11. The Town of Canton. Farmington River Trail. [] 7/2/09 12. Farmington Valley Greenway. History. [] 7/2/09 13. BikeRide.com. Riding the Farmington Valley Greenway. [] 7/2/09 14. Clear Research. Connecticut's changing landscape. [] 7/2/09 15. United States Geology Survey. National Water Information System: Web Interface. []<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">7/4/09 16. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Laws, Regulations, Guidance, and Dockets. ([]) 7/5/09