Current Projects

Stormwater runoff and the pollution it carries is a very large threat to our rivers, lakes and Long Island Sound. ECCD has been involved with installing many stormwater capture and infiltration projects to intercept polluted stormwater runoff.  These systems use nature as a filter to purify the water as it soaks into the ground.  All of these projects to install Best Management Practices (BMPs) were recommendations in existing watershed-based plans. Highlighted text will bring you to additional downloadable brochures or fact sheets.

Current Projects

Improving Water Quality Through Green Infrastructure in Quanaduck Cove and Long Island Sound

Funded by a Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant, ECCD will be working with the Quanaduck Cove Court Condominium Association in Stonington to install a selection of stormwater best management practices to reduce contaminated runoff from draining into Quanaduck Cove, an embayment of Stonington Harbor and Long Island Sound. After the implementation of the Low Impact Development (LID) strategies, this multi-unit residential area will become an LID demonstration site for developers, planners, residents, managers and stormwater practitioners. As part of this project, ECCD will develop a LID stormwater management guidance manual for multi-unit residential complexes like condominiums and apartment complexes. The manual will demonstrate stormwater management practices that can be incorporated into the landscape to reduce the impact of this type of dense residential development on water quality and the environment.

This project has been funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement LI-00A01075 to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of any commercial products used in this project.

Lower Natchaug River Stormwater BMPs Project

The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District has received funding from CTDEEP through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to conduct a project at three sites within the Town of Mansfield to improve water quality in the Lower Natchaug River Watershed by addressing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution from stormwater. Projects at these sites will implement stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff from discharging directly into receiving waters and reduce the pollutant load transport. Practices will include the construction of several rain gardens and installing storm drain filters. Additionally, ECCD will be conducting an educational workshop for the public and stakeholders and provide technical training for the designated operators of the installed BMPs.

Niantic River Watershed 4-Town Bio-infiltration, Infiltration and Water Collection Project

The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District has received funding from CTDEEP through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to conduct a water quality improvement project in the Niantic River watershed. ECCD will partner with the four watershed towns of East Lyme, Waterford, Montville and Salem to install a suite of water quality improvement practices to manage runoff from one or more urban sub-watersheds of the Niantic River. Practices will include rain gardens, rain barrels, stormwater tree filters and SmartSponge catch basin filter inserts.

The Durham Master Gardeners Program developed an excellent guide to rain barrel operation and maintenance. Just click on the link below for some great tips!

The Basics for Maintaining Your Rain Barrel

Completed Projects

MT Hope River Implementation Project – Perry Hill Estates

The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District has received funding from CTDEEP through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to conduct a project in the Upper Natchaug River Watershed. The project, MT Hope River Implementation Project – Perry Hill Estates, involves constructing dumpster pads and installing storm drain filters at Perry Hill Estates in Ashford, CT. Additionally, ECCD will install pet waste stations along the MT Hope River Trail and conduct educational workshops. The project elements are implementation recommendations from the Mount Hope River Implementation-based Watershed Planning and Developed Land BMP Matrix (2014).

Dumpster Etiquette Brochure

Pet Waste Brochure

We encourage you to take the Can You Flush This Quiz.

May 6 Septic System Care and Maintenance Workshop

April 6, 2020 Well Water Testing and Maintenance Workshop for Homeowners

For additional information contact Dan.Mullins@comcast.net or Jean.Pillo@comcast.net.

Long Island Sound Futures Fund: 100 Rain Gardens and 100 Rain Barrels In One Year

The Eastern CT Conservation District (ECCD) conducted a pilot project to hold workshops and install 100 rain gardens & 100 rain barrels throughout Eastern CT. The pilot program was funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Long Island Sound Futures Fund and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To implement the project, ECCD partnered with the Boy Scouts of America, various service organizations at UConn, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, River Network, the Thames River Basin Partnership, the Niantic River Watershed Committee and The Last Green Valley.

Rain gardens and rain barrels are low-cost solutions to reducing non-point source pollution from entering our rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and Long Island Sound. Rain gardens are slight depressions in the ground in which a variety of plants are installed. Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways and sidewalks is redirected into the rain garden where it infiltrates into the soil and is filtered of contaminants. Rain barrels collect rainwater from rooftops which can then be used to water gardens and flowers around the yard, conserving water while reducing the amount of runoff entering waterways.

This was an exciting new program for the district. ECCD thanks the Boy Scouts from your local communities for participating in the project and improving the water quality and wildlife habitats in Eastern Connecticut. Collectively, in both the short- and long-term, the Boy Scouts made meaningful contributions to conserving our natural resources. For an organization dedicated to service and the environment, one that appreciates and utilizes our natural resources, it is difficult to imagine a more profound legacy for the Boy Scouts than to lead the charge in protecting our environment.

If you would like more information about this project,  please contact Dan.Mullins@comcast.net , or call 860-319-8808, for more information. A rain garden informational brochure can be downloaded here.

Baker Cove Non-Migratory Canada Geese Outreach, Education and Control Project

In the Spring of 2017, ECCD received funding to conduct a Canada Geese Control Project at Baker’s Cove in Groton. The project is funded in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act section 319 grant through the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The primary goals of the project are to develop a team of stakeholders and assign roles and responsibilities, conduct a Canada Geese inventory including travel and use areas, develop a matrix of strategies to control Canada Geese in the Cove and select one control measure from the matrix to implement with project partners.

Informational brochures are available to download: 1) Do Not Feed the Waterfowl and 2) Canada Geese Fact Sheet (Developed by the Eastern RI Conservation District).

Latimer Brook Stormwater Infiltration Project

In August 2019, ECCD and the Town of East Lyme installed stormwater infiltration structures under a parking lot at East Lyme High School.  Prior to installation, the 1-acre parking lot discharged untreated stormwater runoff to nearby Latimer Brook, the primary tributary to the Niantic River.  The Niantic River, located between the towns of East Lyme and Waterford, is a significant commercial and recreational resource to both communities.  Protection of its water quality will ensure the continued enjoyment of the river by local and regional visitors.

The infiltration structures will allow an estimated 900,000 gallons of stormwater per year to soak into the permeable sand and gravel deposits under the parking lot, reducing both the volume of stormwater and amount of contaminants entering Latimer Brook.  In conjunction with the stormwater infiltration project, the Niantic River Watershed Committee, Inc., the East Lyme School Department  and volunteers from the Millstone Environmental Lab installed a bio-retention rain garden in a lawn area adjacent to the parking lot in July 2018. This rain garden will infiltrate stormwater from a portion of nearby athletic fields and parking lot, preventing associated contaminants, including sediment, vehicle chemicals, fertilizer and pesticides, from entering the brook.

The Millstone Environmental Lab Environmental Stewardship Team plant the rain garden at East Lyme High School in July 2017.

The East Lyme High School rain garden during the summer of 2018.

The stormwater infiltration project was funded, in part, by CT DEEP through a Clean Water Act § 319 Non-point Source Program grant.  The bioretention rain garden was funded through an Environmental Stewardship Program Grant from the Dominion Foundation.

Grand Street Reconstruction and Stormwater Management, East Lyme

In late 2017, ECCD and the Town of East Lyme installed stormwater management practices, 21 tree wells, along Grand Street in downtown Niantic as Part of a Grand Street improvement project.  Currently, stormwater from this busy mixed commercial/residential area is discharged directly to the Niantic River with no water quality treatment.  However, large areas of impervious surface now drain into the tree wells, which treats the contaminated runoff before discharging into the Niantic River. A second phase of the project, to install additional tree wells in the neighborhood, is currently underway by project partners.

On April 27, 2018, ECCD, the Town of East Lyme and CT NEMO held a workshop for municipal DPW staff and stormwater management professionals about the incorporation of Low Impact Development (LID) practices into the Grand Street project. Judy Rondeau, project manager for ECCD, discussed the use of LID practices to meet MS4 permit requirements. Amanda Ryan, CT NEMO MS4 educator, discussed the Directly Connected Pervious Area (DCIA) and  DCIA disconnection requirements of the MS4 permit. Victor Benni, East Lyme Town Engineer, took workshop participants through the process the East Lyme engineering department took to determine DCIA and disconnected DCIA in the project area. Prior to the presentations, Victor and Judy led workshop participants on a tour of the Grand Street neighborhood, where additional tree wells were being installed. The tour also visited other LID practices that have been installed by ECCD and the Town in  downtown Niantic.

Workshop presentations can be viewed and downloaded here:

• Grand Street Stormwater Management Project – Incorporating Low Impact Development Best Management Practices into the CT MS4 Permit – Judy Rondeau, ECCD
• Impervious Cover and Low Impact Development in the MS4 permit – Amanda Ryan, CT NEMO
• Determining DCIA & DCIA reductions for the Grand Street area – Victor Benni, PE, Town of East Lyme Engineering Department

Mashamoquet Brook Watershed Septic Upgrade Project

In 2011, ECCD staff concluded a water quality investigation of the Mashamoquet Brook watershed, and wrote a Water Quality Improvement Plan.  The Mashamoquet Brook watershed is mostly located in Pomfret, but includes parts of Brooklyn, Woodstock and Eastford.  The study was conducted because quality in the swimming area at Mashamoquet Brook State Park failed to meet safe water quality standards for recreation by Connecticut Water Quality Standards.  The water in the engineered swimming area comes from Mashamoquet Brook.  ECCD, with assistance of volunteers from The Last Green Valley Water Quality Monitoring Program, surveyed the watershed and collected water samples to be tested for E. coli bacteria.  At the conclusion of the study, the results showed that Mashamoquet Brook, beginning at Covell Road and extending all the way to the Quinebaug River, did not meet state standards.  Abington Brook and White Brook also failed to meet state water quality standards.

Based on the investigation, it was concluded that it was highly likely that failing septic systems from older homes along the streams could be a contributing source of E. coli.  The average life span of a well-maintained septic system is not indefinite.  Many of these homes date back to the 1800s.

To address this issue, ECCD applied for and was awarded funding by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection through a United States Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grant.  The goals for this project are to educate all the homeowners in the watershed about the proper care and maintenance of their septic systems, how to identify a problem that needs to be addressed and possible funding sources to help pay for septic system upgrades.  This one-time grant will  provide a $5000 rebate to homeowners in priority areas along the streams if they replace their septic system before August 30, 2018.  Links to the Mashamoquet, Abington and White Brook priority areas are below.  If your home is in one of the priority areas, it does not mean your septic system is failing. However, if your septic system is failing  and you live in one the priority areas, you are eligible for the rebate if your system is replaced.

A free workshop on septic tank care and maintenace was held on April 12, 2016.  The workshop was co-sponsored by the Pomfret Conservation Commission.   A free gift was provided to those who completed and returned the ECCD Septic Tank Survey.

Priority maps for the Mashamoquet Septic Tank  Upgrade Project

• Abington Brook Priority Map
• Mashamoquet Brook Area 1 Priority Map
• Mashamoquet Brook Area 2 Priority Map
• White Brook Area 1 Priority Map
• White Brook Area 2 Priority Map

PowerPoint explaining the Mashamoquet Brook Septic System Upgrades project

PowerPoint Can You Flush This? Information on what is and isn’t safe to flush into your septic system.

Moosup Garden Apartments Rain Gardens Project, Plainfield

In 2016, as part of a US EPA Clean Water Act § 319 Non-Point Source grant which funded the Ekonk Brook Trackdown and Watershed Based Plan, ECCD installed rain gardens at the Moosup Garden Apartments, in the Moosup section of Plainfield.  These rain gardens were installed to capture and infiltrate contaminated stormwater runoff.  This runoff originated near the dumpsters scattered around the apartment complex, and then discharged directly into Ekonk Brook through the stormdrain system, degrading water quality.  A rain garden was installed next to each dumpster.  Stormwater runoff was diverted from each dumpster area to a nearby rain garden, interupting the flow of contaminated stormwater into the the stormdrain system, and reducing the amount of pollution entering Ekonk Brook.

Colonial Townhouse Apartments Green Infrastructure Project, Mansfield and Willimantic

In 2016, ECCD installed rain gardens and tree filters at the Colonial Townhouse Apartments, located in Mansfield and Willimantic.  This project, which was recommended in the 2014 Lower Natchaug River Watershed Based Plan, was funded in part by the CT DEEP through a US EPA Clean Water Act § 319 Non-Point Source grant program.  Stormwater from the apartment complex discharges to the Natchaug River at Lauter Park.  The rain garden and tree filter units will treat and/or infiltrate a combined volume of approximately 548,000 gallons of stormwater per year, reducing stormwater volume and pollutant loading to the Natchaug River.  This project will serve as a model for other similar stormwater BMP projects in the region, particularly in heavily developed commercial and urban areas.

Tree Filters Installed in the City of Groton to Improve Water Quality in Baker Cove

ECCD was awarded funding from CT DEEP through the Clean Water Act §319 Nonpoint Source grant program to install tree filters at the City of Groton  Municipal Complex and adjacent Washington Park.  In partnership with the City of Groton, seven tree filters were installed in September 2015 to treat stormwater runoff from the City Hall and Park parking areas and driveways.  Stormwater from these areas currently flows into Birch Plain Creek, which is a  tributary to Baker Cove.  Baker Cove has been closed for a number of years to shellfishing for direct consumption due to high levels of bacteria found in the water.  This stormwater management practice is the first in what ECCD and the City of Groton hope to be a series of projects that will improve the water quality of Baker Cove.

Niantic River Tree Filters in East Lyme and Waterford

ECCD was awarded funding from CT DEEP through the US EPA Clean Water Act §319 Nonpoint Source grant program to install tree filters along Pennsylvania Avenue in Niantic, and on Mago Point in Waterford.  Four tree filters were installed in May 2015 in Niantic as part of the Niantic Streetscape Improvement project.  Four additional tree filters were installed in summer 2016 at the State of Connecticut’s Mago Point overflow boat launch parking lot, as part of the Town of  Waterford’s Mago Point Improvement project.  These 8 tree filters help treat contaminated stormwater runoff that previously flowed untreated directly to the Niantic River, improving water quality for recreation and aquatic habitat.

Lauter Park Riparian Buffer Restoration

In 2015, ECCD received funding from the State’s Supplemental Environmental Projects Program through the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut to restore the riparian buffer along the shore of the Natchaug River at Lauter Park in Willimantic.

Riparian buffers, which are strips of vegetation alongside a river or stream, provide important protection to both the physical character of a stream and its water quality.  The vegetation itself provides a barrier to stormwater runoff by slowing down surface flow as it works its way through the vegetation, which allows it to soak into the ground. This reduces the amount of contaminants in the stormwater from reaching the river, which in a well-used park like Lauter Park, could include vehicular chemicals, trash, sediment, fecal bacteria from animal waste and lawn fertilizers and pesticides.  Plant roots also armor the stream banks, holding soil together during periods of high flow, so that the stream banks don’t erode away.

The riparian buffer at Lauter Park has been diminished from many years of activity at the park to the point that, with the exception of mature trees, the river’s edge is nearly devoid of both vegetation and top soil. Utilizing the SEP funding, ECCD partnered with the Town of Windham to restore 500 feet of riparian buffer as recommended in the Lower Natchaug River Watershed Based Plan. Approximately 25 students from Eastern Connecticut State University volunteered through the annual Town Pride/Town Wide event to plant a mix of shrubs, perennials and small trees alongside the river.  Prides Corner Farm of Lebanon donated additional plants to assist with the restoration.

Colony Road Tree Filter Project, East Lyme

In 2012, ECCD, in partnership with the Town of East Lyme, installed 5 tree filter units in the Colony Road neighborhood. The tree filters treat approximately 1 million gallons of stormwater runoff each year prior to its discharge into Latimer Brook, the primary tributary to the Niantic River.  The installation of the tree filters has significantly reduced the amount of common non-point source pollutants from being discharged into Latimer.  This includes a 385% reduction of E. coli bacteria.  These tree filters are helping to improve the water quality in the brook for recreation and aquatic habitat.  This project was funded in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act § 319 Non-Point Source grant through the CT DEEP.

Demonstration rain gardens and riparian buffers installed in Woodstock, CT

In 2012, ECCD was awarded EPA Clean Water Act § 319 NPS funding through the CT DEEP to install stormwater improvement projects in Woodstock, CT.  Working with the Town of Woodstock and other partners, ECCD installed two demonstration projects in the Little River watershed. A bioretention rain garden was installed behind the Woodstock Historical Society/Palmer Hall building at the Woodstock Arboretum. The second project involved planting a riparian buffer along a stream where none previously existed at the Woodstock Golf Course.

What is a…

Rain Garden?

Rain Gardens are gardens planted in a depression. When stormwater runoff is directed towards a rain garden, it is captured and soaked into the ground. There are many benefits to using rain gardens.  Click here to download an informative brochure on rain gardens.

Bioretention Project?

A bioretention project is like a rain garden but is usually larger in scale and may include an underdrain system to direct overflow from larger rain events.  Like rain gardens, a bioretention project uses nature to treat stormwater as it infiltrates through the ground.  A bioretention project is typically sized to capture and infiltrate the runoff from at least the first inch of rain. The most contaminated water from a storm is typically in the runoff from that first inch of runoff.  Any additional runoff is typically less polluted.

Tree Filter?

In the battle against nonpoint source pollution, new methods are being developed and tested every year.  One such method employs an ancient strategy – the ability of nature to remediate contaminants. This new twist on an old process is called a “tree filter.”  Street trees in urban settings are not a new idea.  What is new is the idea of setting a tree in a specially processed growth medium in an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure, and connecting it to the storm drain system. Storm runoff picks up contaminants on the ground – chemicals, heavy metals, trash, salts, fertilizers, pesticides and sediments – and transports them into the storm drain system.  Traditional storm drain systems were designed to channel and remove stormwater runoff from paved surfaces as expeditiously as possible to avoid road flooding.  Little or no thought was given to the contaminants that stormwater picked up along the way. Tree filters are designed to treat these contaminants. Microbes in the growth medium and the tree itself do the work of removing the contaminants through biological processes. The microbes and tree absorb nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, removing them from the stormwater.  The tree may also remove salts, metals and harmful chemicals and either absorb and alter them, store them or transpire them through the leaves. Oil- and grease-digesting bacteria in the soil can break down petroleum products transported in the stormwater.  Heavy metals may adsorb onto sediment in the unit and stay put.  Stormwater that has been treated through this natural water pollution treatment system can exit the tree filter up to 95% cleaner than it was before it entered!

Tree filter units are very adaptable and can be retrofitted into previously developed cityscapes.  They require very little space.  Most small trees are suitable for use in filter units.  Tree filters can be set up in series along streets, so that as polluted storm water enters the storm drain system, it passes through a series of tree filters before being discharged into the receiving water body. Click here to download our Tree Filter brochure.  Click here to see a short slide show demonstrating how a tree filter is installed.

Riparian Buffer?

A riparian buffer is a vegetated area along a stream or lake shoreline.  These buffers help to improve water quality by slowing down, spreading out and soaking in rain water.  The roots of trees and shrubs help to stabilize the shoreline and decrease erosion. The shade from the tree canopies helps to keep the water cooler.  Falling leaves are an important food resource in the aquatic food chain.

These projects were funded in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act section 319 grant through the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection unless otherwise specified.

ECCD collaborates with agricultural producers on a variety of agricultural projects such as constructing manure storage facilities and composting facilities, installing silage bunkers and barn roof gutters, as well as assisting farmers improve soil health through their field practices.  ECCD’s efforts focus upon improving soil health and improving water quality. For a more comprehensive review of District efforts in the agricultural sector, see completed projects below.

Current projects

ECCD anticipates starting construction of a free-stall barn and manure storage facility in Spring 2021. The project will also involve the construction of a new silage bunker. Designs for the facilities were completed under a previous grant. See completed grants below, Little River Waste Storage Design and Innovative Field Equipment Project.

Completed Projects

Little River Waste Storage Design and Innovative Field Equipment Project

The Eastern CT Conservation District has received funding from CTDEEP through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to conduct a project in the Little River watershed in northeast CT. The project will improve water quality in Roseland Lake, Little River, as well as its tributaries. The project involves purchasing innovative field equipment for two dairy farms and developing engineered designs for an agricultural waste storage facility.

The designs are complete and will be used to guide the construction of the waste storage facility and free-stall barn. Construction of the facility is expected to begin during the spring of 2021. Additionally, ECCD purchased precision planting equipment (PPE) and manure injection equipment for two farms. With the PPE, the farmer can plant corn into a living cover crop, allowing the cover crop to remain on fields for 2 – 3 weeks longer, preventing erosion and discharge of nutrients into local waterbodies. The manure injection equipment allows the farmer to inject manure below the ground surface where it is protected from being washed over land into streams and rivers, thereby preventing the discharge of pathogens and nutrients into local waters, as well as Long Island Sound.

Precision Planting Equipment

Manure Injectors

Woodstock Dairy Farm Agriculture Waste Management Project

ECCD is partnering with a large dairy farm in Woodstock, CT to install several agriculture waste management practices. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2017 on the installation of sub-surface drainage beneath the farm’s silage bunkers, followed by the installation of a silage leachate collection system.  Contractors will also be installing an agriculture waste transfer system to move waste from both the milkhouse and barn. Finally, the project will include the construction of a custom concrete receiving tank for agricultural waste. This project will reduce nutrients and pathogens from discharging into Little River, which provides drinking water to the Town of Putnam and is a priority in NRCS’s National Water Quality Initiative. This project is funded in part by CT DEEP through a Clean Water Act § 319 Program Grant.

Building a “CT Urban Agricultural Network” in Eastern CT

In 2016 ECCD, in partnership with GROW Windham in Willimantic, was awarded a grant from NRCS through the National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative.  This new program by NACD provides a total of $2 million to 42 conservation districts in 25 states to “allow districts to help urban farmers, community gardens, and other local agricultural partnerships implement conservation practices that support local food production, provide opportunities for education and stewardship, and protect natural resources.”

In eastern CT, our project began in the Fall of 2016 by supporting GROW Windham’s design and construction of their new growing space to the gardens that GROW Windham has managed for more than 20 years.  GROW Windham and other experienced growers designed the site with input from community members, UConn Cooperative Extension and ECCD.  With the site’s unique location near Sawmill Brook and the Natchaug River, it is a great opportunity to demonstrate conservation practices on farms and community gardens in urban areas.

Along with this technical assistance, another core project goal is outreach and education.  In October, a series of “Workshop Workdays” began.  These are an invitation to farmers, growers from other cities, and the local community to learn about the value that certain conservation practices have in urban agriculture (site selection & garden design, soil health, fertilizer/compost management, cover crops and buffer plantings, etc).  In addition, the Workshop Workdays are a chance to get dirty and learn about implementing practices through projects in GROW Windham’s new growing space.  October’s Workshop Workday concentrated on soil health, with activities on evaluating and amending soils, cover crops, and best practices when planting fruit trees.  For 2017, the Workshop Workdays* are:

1. March 25  –      Protecting & Improving Water Quality
2. April 22     –      Ways to Conserve Water (& Irrigation)
3. May 27     –       Composting Basics & Management
4. June 24     –       Pest Control Using “Integrated Pest Management” (IPM)

Also in spring 2017, a full-day conference* is being held in Willimantic for urban growers in the region to meet one another and share information.  In concert with the Workshop Workdays, this event is the beginning of building an active community of urban growers, to be known as the CT Urban Agricultural Conservation Network.  It is our goal that the CUACN becomes a robust network of growers and organizations that can support one another in determining and implementing conservation practices, increasing productivity, developing education programs, and sustaining and growing a network of urban agricultural programs in the region.

*For more information on these events, please contact Michael Soares, ECCD Conservation Technician, at Dan.Mullins@comcast.net or 860-319-8806.

Dairy Farm Fields Nutrient Reduction Project

ECCD collaborated with Valleyside Farm to install a woodchip bioreactor to intercept runoff from a tile-drained field in South Woodstock. A woodchip bioreactor is typically a trench filled with woodchips intercepting the outflow from the tile drain system. The untreated, nutrient enriched tile drain runoff is directed to flow through the woodchips where it is treated. This approach to reducing NPS pollution has not been tried in Connecticut. Click here for more information about the woodchip bioreactor. Click on the link to access the project’s Final CWA 319 Report.

Upon execution of a contract by CT DEEP, ECCD will be conducting water quality monitoring at the intake and outflow of the bioreactor to determine its effectiveness at removing nitrogen and other constituents from the tile-drain discharge. For a fact sheet about denitrifying woodchip bioreactors click here.

A second component of this project involved the purchase of precision planting equipment which was installed onto an updated corn planter purchased by Valleyside. The precision planting equipment allows Valleyside to plant its corn directly into a living cover crop, which will leave the cover crop in the ground longer, thereby decreasing erosion and reducing sediment and nutrient discharge from fields. The precision planting equipment will also provide valuable information to Valleyside regarding its agricultural practices and will adjust seeding rates automatically, saving the farm $3,000 -5,000 per year.

Valleyside Farm proprieter, Lucas Young:

“The precision planting equipment greatly improved my corn crop this year in the challenging growing conditions.  The control of down force really shined where the soil was wet and soft by not over-compressing the soil around the seed bed. The clean sweep row cleaners enabled me to plant into living covers which I delayed terminating because of the wetter than normal conditions to help pull more moisture out of the soil.  This practice also allowed me to do a single spray pass rather than my traditional two.  To top it off all the data from the planter was saved to my iPad for future reference and decision making.  As for the bioreactor, I am excited to see what results we get. The install went really well. I think the design will be long lasting and very easy to manage and maintain”.

Funded in part by CT DEEP through a CWA §319 NPS Program grant.

Small Farm Manure BMPs

While there is funding available to assist larger commercial farms to reduce polluted runoff or install best management practices, small hobby farms don’t qualify for those programs.  These small farms are just as likely to have contaminated runoff, especially from poorly managed manure piles.  ECCD was awarded an US EPA CWA § 319 NPS program grant through the CT DEEP to work with small farm owners in Woodstock and Promfret and teach them about manure management BMPs.  As part of this project, ECCD distributed manure compost covers that would shield a manure pile from rain and reduce manure contaminated runoff from draining into nearby wetlands and streams.  To learn more about manure management on small farms, click here to download an informational brochure.

An extention of the Small Farms project included installation of several Best Management Practices  (BMPs) at the University of Connecticut’s horse paddocks on Horse Barn Hill Road. The BMPs will reduce contaminated runoff from entering local waterways while providing a healthier living space for the horses. The BMPs, which complement existing BMPs, include a processed aggregate berm, a woodchip berm, stone dust and sand surface treatments in the paddocks, a fence and two rubber belt water deflectors. Informational signage was installed to educate the users of this facility about the BMPs.  For more information about these BMPs, here to open an informational brochure.

ECCD Completes A Project in Woodstock to Reduce NPS Runoff from a Dairy Farms

The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District assisted a family run dairy farm in Woodstock, Connecticut, with a project that redirected roof runoff away from the barnyard. By installing rain gutters along the roof edge and redirecting the runoff, this project greatly reduced the possibility of the runoff carrying manure from the barnyard to a local brook.

Redirecting Silage Leachate Away from a Local Brook

One method of stock piling feed for dairy cows is chopping the entire corn plant into “silage”. However, a byproduct of silage storage is a liquid that leaches out, which is toxic to aquatic creatures. So it is important that a farm’s silage storage area be constructed in a way that prevents the leachate from being carried by stormwater to a wetland, brook, or pond. A 2012 ECCD project addressed this issue through the reconstruction of the silage bunkers at a Woodstock dairy farm, whose silage storage area is located a short distance uphill from North Running Brook in the Little River watershed. ECCD was one of several partners who helped this farm reconstruct their silage bunkers. The construction project has been successfully completed, and the new bunkers, complete with a new leachate capturing system, are now providing protection for North Running Brook. This project was featured as an EPA NPS Success Story.

Aerated Compost Facility

ECCD assisted a farm in Woodstock to construct an aerated compost facility for managing dairy mortalities. The covered facility is reducing contaminated run-off from entering local waterbodies and the aeration system is composting deceased livestock more quickly. Solar power is providing electricity to the aeration system. Funded in part by CT DEEP through a CWA §319 NPS Program grant.

ECCD Purchases Farm Machines to Help Reduce Runoff

In the spring of 2008, ECCD began a grant-funded project a little different from our other projects.  We actually purchased farm equipment!  We are now the proud owners of two Aerway® aerators!

We have undertaken many grant-funded projects over the years.  A large number have involved working with farmers in an effort to reduce the chances of fertilizers being swept away by heavy rains and ending up in our local rivers and ponds.  The main culprits are the plant nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, which are found in both manure and commercial fertilizers.  The farmers welcome projects that conserve the nutrients, because their business is dependent on a healthy environment, and they also want the nutrients to stay in their fields to help their crops grow.  (Not to mention that the price of commercial fertilizers has risen dramatically in the recent past.)

Most of our projects involve trying a new method or technique which can be accomplished with the farmer’s existing machinery, or in some cases, additional labor.  For this new project we decided to try a new method, but the technique required a piece of machinery that none of the farmers owned.  With a lot of advance planning, and with the support of both the Connecticut DEP and the U.S. EPA, we worked with several farmers to select the best piece of machinery.

The machine selected was chosen for its ability to create openings in the soil which allows manure to seep into the soil quickly, verses leaving the nutrients on the surface where they can evaporate or be washed away by the first rain.  Thus, running the aerator over a field before spreading manure should result in a much higher percentage of the nutrients being retained in the soil for crop growth.

The results of this project indicated that the method worked.  Both runoff volume and the amount of nutrients in the runoff were reduced by significant amounts.  The machines are still in use, shared by several local farmers.

ECCD enters into contracts with the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to investigate water quality issues and develop detailed plans to address pollution problems.  These plans are known as watershed based plans (WBP), and they must follow a specific US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outline.  Through the CT DEEP, ECCD has been receiving money from the EPA via section 319 of the Clean Water Act program to fund this work.  Where water quality does meet CT water quality goals, DEEP is also allowed to fund anti-degradation plans in order to keep it that way.  Below are summaries of current and completed projects.

Current Projects

Muddy Brook and Little River Water Quality Improvement Plan Update

In 2009, ECCD published the Muddy Brook and Little River Water Quality Improvement Plan for portions of Woodstock, Pomfret, Putnam and Thompson, CT. This plan which was funded by CT DEEP through a Clean Water Act §319 grant from US EPA.

In 2013, Little River was designated as a National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) watershed by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  The NWQI is a partnership among NRCS, CT DEEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under the program, funding from these multiple partners is targeted to provide technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and hobby farmers to implement voluntary conservation practices that often improve soil health, plus save time and money. Agency collaboration in small watersheds like the Little River can make a big difference when farmers are incentivized to implement conservation measures.  As a result of the Muddy Brook and Little River Water Quality Improvement Plan (the Plan) and the watershed’s designation under the NWQI, millions of federal dollars have been invested to restore soil health and improve water quality in the watershed.

In 2018, USDA NRCS updated its requirements to designate a watershed under the NWQI. The Plan does not meet the revised criteria, so the NWQI designation for Little River was rescinded. Currently, ECCD is updating the Plan; once completed, the watershed’s designation under the NWQI can be restored and funding for conservation projects in the watershed will again be prioritized. ECCD staff will be engaging with farmers and other stakeholders in the Little River watershed as they update the plan.

The plan update is being funded by NRCS through a Connecticut Source Water Protection grant to the Connecticut Council on Soil and Water Conservation. Additional funding is being provided by NRCS through two Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grants, The Last Green Valley’s RCPP entitled, Improving Soil Health and Water Quality in the Thames River Watershed and University of CT’s RCPP, Path to Reduce Pathogens in CT Agricultural Runoff.

Meeting schedule

February 23, 2021           Little River WS – NWQI/Healthy WS Collaborative ZOOM meeting  Meeting Recording

Meeting Agenda              Meeting notes

March 16, 2022          Little River WS – NWQI/Healthy WS Collaborative ZOOM meeting  Meeting Recording

Meeting Agenda              Meeting notes

Pie and Farm Talk Series – promoting farm BMPs to small farms.

A series of Farm Talks were held at the Senexet Grange in Woodstock. Click the links to view the programs.

Nutrients and Manure Management on Small Farms

Grazing Animals 101

Forest Management Plans

Healthy Soils for Small Farms

Sign up to be on the email distribution list for this project at this link: http://eepurl.com/hrsTjn

Follow updates on this project on Facebook

Anguilla Brook Bacteria Trackdown and Watershed-Based Plan

Anguilla Brook, located in Stonington, CT, is the primary tributary to Wequetequock Cove. Wequetequock Cove is impaired for its designated uses, including aquatic habitat, recreation and shellfishing (for direct consumption) due to the presence of fecal bacteria, nutrients and other contaminants that have degraded the water quality. According to CT DEEP, these pollutants may be associated with stormwater runoff and agricultural activities in the Anguilla Brook watershed.

ECCD has received funding from CT DEEP through the US EPA Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source program to conduct a bacteria trackdown in the Anguilla Brook watershed. ECCD and project partners will collect water samples to quantify bacteria levels in Anguilla Brook and its perennial tributaries, conduct stream corridor assessments and evaluate land use in the watershed in order to potentially identify sources of bacteria and other pollutants. This data will be used to prepare a US EPA nine-element watershed-based plan for the Anguilla Brook watershed.

Click here to view and/or download the Anguilla Brook Watershed Bacteria Monitoring Report.

Click here to view and/or download the Anguilla Brook Watershed Streamwalk Report.

To assist with the project, ECCD has brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from local, regional, state and federal organizations and agencies. These partners will meet quarterly to help guide the water quality investigation and watershed plan development. Information regarding the stakeholder meetings and material pertinent to the project and watershed plan development will be posted here as the project progresses.

Stakeholder Meetings

1/16/19    Agenda    Minutes    Watershed Values Survey    Meeting presentation   Project timeline

4/10/19    Agenda    Minutes     Meeting Presentation      CUSH Annual Mtg Flyer

7/17/19    Agenda    Minutes     Meeting Presentation

10/16/19  Agenda    Minutes     Meeting Presentation

1/15/20    Agenda    Minutes     Meeting Presentation   Pawcatuck River Watershed Story Map     Nutrient Loads to Pawcatuck River Estuary and Little Narragansett Bay Poster   CTDEEP Pawcatuck River Watershed page   Bacteria Sampling Report    Streamwalk Summary

4/15/20   Agenda     Minutes      Meeting Presentation    WBP Outline

3/16/21  Final Stakeholder Meeting Presentation     Draft Anguilla Brook/Inner Wequetequock Cove Plan    Draft Plan Figures

Southeastern CT Coastal Water Quality Webinar Series

Wequetequock Cove, like many embayments of Long Island Sound, does not meet water quality standards for recreation, shellfishing or aquatic habitat. This series examined likely causes of the water quality impairments and offers practical solutions for water quality improvements. Although our study has focused on Wequetequock Cove, the solutions are applicable to all coastal waters in Long Island Sound.  The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District presented the Southeastern Connecticut Coastal Water Quality Webinar Series on Wednesday evenings through September.

The webinars were posted on ECCD’s YouTube channel – Eastern CT Conservation District.  Click to access the channel or use the links posted below for each webinar.

Sept. 2, 2020:  Feeding Green Waters – exploring the link between our actions and water quality in Little Narragansett Bay and Wequetequock Cove. View this webinar by Jamie Vaudrey (UConn) on the Eastern CT Conservation District Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/umx1h0dhCSY

Sept. 9, 2020: What are Riparian Buffers and why can they make a difference?  View this webinar by Juliana Barrett (CT Sea Grant) on the Eastern CT Conservation District Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/_oc4KnUkeL0

Sept. 16, 2020:  Healthy Shellfish – how land use-based decisions affect natural shellfish beds and aquaculture. View this webinar by Tessa Getchis (CT Sea Grant) on the Eastern CT Conservation District Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/mz9JER3S5SA

Sept. 23, 2020: Maintenance Practices for your Septic System. View this webinar by Jeff Polhemus of Skip’s Wastewater Systems on the Eastern CT Conservation District Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/2IeRKYTp-po.

Sept. 30, 2020: Gardening for Good – Healthy yards for healthy waters – residential lawn and garden practices that protect water quality. View this webinar by Judy Preston (LISS & CT Sea Grant) on the Eastern CT Conservation District Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/qmoWMfSXCk4.

Vaudrey Embayment Study

Vaudrey Embayment Study – Comparative analysis and model development for determining the susceptibility to eutrophication of Long Island Sound embayments.

This study, led by Dr. Jamie Vaudrey of the University of Connecticut, identified the trophic status of fifteen embayments of Long Island Sound, including  Wequetequock Cove, estimated the nitrogen load and sources of nitrogen to all embayments of Long Island Sound, and established a list of embayments most likely to be experiencing the impacts of eutrophication.  Read the Final Report.  View the Long Island Sound Nitrogen Loading Model (2016 version) Interactive Map.  Visit the Vaudrey Lab for information on additional research in Long Island Sound.

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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. This cove is located at the City of Groton/Town of Groton border. Occasionally the shellfish beds in the area need to be closed due to bacteria exceeding the safe threshold for direct consumption, especially after it rains.  ECCD  investigated this urban watershed and developed recommendations to remedy this problem. Many volunteers assisted with the collection of visual assessment data along the cove shore, Birch Plain Creek and its tributaries. The information collected was drafted into an abbreviated watershed based plan for the watershed.  Additional information contributed from local stakeholders was also incorporated into the final plan.  Click here to view the final Watershed Based Plan for Baker Cove.

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Spaulding Pond

 

Spaulding Pond is located in Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT. Water samples from the pond occasionally exceed the safe bacteria threshold limit for swimming. ECCD staff, with the assistance of students from Kelly Middle School and the Uncas Health District collected data to determine the most probable sources of contamination impacting this pond.

An abbreviated watershed based plan has been prepared and submitted to the CT DEEP. Click here  to view the final Watershed Based Plan for Spaulding Pond.

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Little River/Muddy Brook/Roseland Lake

The Little River watershed extends from the Quinebaug River in Putnam through Woodstock, CT and into Massachusetts.  In 2009, ECCD completed a watershed investigation of five different impaired segments and drafted a watershed based plan for this rural watershed.  Click here to view the final Watershed Based Plan for Little River/Muddy Brook/Roseland Lake.

These projects were supported in part by US EPA Clean Water Act grants funded through the CT DEEP.

Nutrient Monitoring
Using a LaMotte Smart2 Colorimeter, volunteers are trained to analyze water samples for certain types of plant nutrients including Nitrate-Nitrogen and ortho-Phosphorus.  These nutrients, when in excess in aquatic environments, support excessive weed and algal growth.

Water Temperature Profiling

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 atidal 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 and businesses.

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.

After many years of permitting, easement gathering and grant writing, the ribbon cutting for the completed Hallville Fishway took place on May 2, 2013.   The installation of this fishway immediately restored Hallville Pond as an alewife breeding ground.  “The founding alewife entered the Hallville headpond @ 1:21AM on April 11, after successfully ascending the new Hallville Fishway. It was quickly followed by a few more,” according to Tim Wildman of CT DEEP Fisheries.  This fishway  will eventually lead to an additional 9 miles of riverine breeding habitat for other migratory fish.  These fish live their adult life in the Atlantic Ocean and migrate to freshwater streams to spawn.

Andrew Tate Memorial Fund

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) encourages partners to join in efforts with producers to increase the restoration and sustainable use of soil, water, wildlife and related natural resources on regional or watershed scales. Through the program, NRCS and its partners help producers install and maintain conservation activities in selected project areas. Partners leverage RCPP funding in project areas and report on the benefits achieved.

Projects

Thames River Basin Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Under the RCPP, ECCD is assisting The Last Green Valley by providing technical assistance to engage agricultural producers in the Thames River Basin and to enlist them in implementing conservation practices that will improve soil health and water quality.

In addition, EQIP funding is reserved for farmers interested in using diverse cover crops, no-till methods, and other conservation practices to improve soil health and reduce soil erosion. Effectiveness of the conservation practices can be measured through a voluntary program to install edge-of-field stormwater runoff collection boxes. Click here for more information about the Thames River basin RCPP. The project is funded in part by a USDA NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant.

Accelerating the Pace of Conservation in the Southern New England Heritage Forest, A Regional Conservation Partnership Program

The Last Green Valley (TLGV) was recently awarded $6,144,000 through the NRCS RCPP program for Accelerating the Pace of Conservation in the Southern New England Heritage Forest. The Southern New England Heritage Forest (SNEHF) is a uniquely-positioned forest corridor stretching north along the Connecticut and Rhode Island border to the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. Spanning the shared borders of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most densely populated states in the country, SNEHF contains 68 towns and covers 1.49 million acres, of which a remarkable 76% still remains in forest and high-priority forested wildlife habitat.

Between 2011 and 2017, federal and non-profit organizations conducted extensive forest landowner outreach in this region, establishing an informed network of “Woodland Ambassadors” and educated and engaged landowners interested in improving and conserving their forested properties. This SNEHF project will connect these forest landowners, who would not traditionally interact with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with NRCS programs and services. A remarkable partnership of non-profit organizations and regional, state and municipal agencies will offer private woodland owners a suite of NRCS tools for sound management and forestry conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and permanent protection through easements under the Healthy Forests Reserve Program. This project will serve as a “conservation pipeline” of forest and bird habitat plans, EQIP practices and HFRP easements on private forestlands in order to accelerate the pace of conservation in SNEHF. For more information, please contact TLGV.

Eastern Connecticut Conservation District is providing outreach for this program.

Path to Reduce Pathogens in CT Agricultural Runoff

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) is preparing to kick off its Path to Reduce Pathogens in CT Agricultural Runoff project. This $669,000 NRCS RCPP project will focus on bacteria levels in Connecticut’s rivers and coastal embayments with shellfish beds in which they unacceptably high. This is, in part, caused by agricultural runoff. To address soil and water quality degradation, ten conservation partners will collaborate to achieve the objectives of the project: University of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut Conservation District, The Last Green Valley, Inc., CT Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, CT Sea Grant, Stonington Shellfish Commission, CUSH, Inc. (Clean Up Sound & Harbors), the Thames River Basin Partnership, UConn Extension, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Project objectives include:

1. develop conservation partnerships focused on reducing pathogens associated with agricultural activities;
2. identify and target critical areas for treatment approaches;
3. encourage adoption of conservation practices that reduce pathogen export from agricultural areas to streams and shellfish beds;
4. identify the opportunities for and barriers to producers and landowners in adopting pathogen conservation practices and evaluate the success of the project.

Potential conservation practices to reduce pathogens will include composting, nutrient management, residue and tillage management, cover crops, fencing, buffers and filter strips, vegetated treatment areas and wetlands. This project will incorporate cutting-edge research tools that will allow for the identification of species-specific DNA markers. This will allow the source of E. coli to be determined by which species contributed it, which in turn will focus remediation efforts where they are most needed. Dr. John Clausen of UCONN is the project lead for this program.