Press Release, North Branford Land Conservation Trust

Our Farm River is a very special natural feature touching seven towns within its more than 16,000-acre watershed. North Branford is home to the largest portion of both the river and its watershed. The river provides a rich abundance of habitats for plants and wildlife, loads of recreation (including fishing) and wonderful scenic vistas. It also has been neglected for decades.

Over years of lack of awareness, misuse and neglect, it has become polluted by sewage, nutrient runoff, plastic trash and degraded by poor stormwater management. Combined, all the pollution sources and lack of maintenance have caused excessive erosion, created high bacteria and nitrogen levels and overall poor water quality.

As our climate changes, and high rainfall events have become more common, unrestricted stormwater rushes off streets, parking lots and farmland into the river, causing the river to flood beyond its banks, flooding streets and scouring the river’s banks. Undersized culverts on the river only exacerbate the flooding. During these events, the water can be seen running from a dark brown to a multitude of blue and gray colors. Tires and almost any sort of garbage you might imagine can be seen floating down the river.

In 2018 the Farm River was selected for a pilot watershed study by the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) mostly because of its water quality issues, and because it’s a drinking water supply for the Regional Water Authority (RWA). Chris Sullivan (Southwest Conservation District) was hired to oversee the project. The goal of the study was to identify and prioritize the sources of the river’s impairments, provide recommendations on how to correct them (including specific projects) and encourage future action by the communities involved.

The following year, a series of meetings was held in North Branford to seek out and organize towns, farmers, organizations and citizens with concerns and interests in the health of the river. Dozens of these “stakeholders” met many times, sharing their intimate knowledge of the river and its problems. Many of these volunteers were then trained in how to recognize and record issues with rivers and streams in general. Then, taking what they learned, they divided the river into sections, and section by section, small groups literally walked or boated the entire 18 miles of the river from the estuary in East Haven and Branford, to the headwaters in Wallingford and North Branford. This effort was guided by Sullivan and Nicole Davis (from Save the Sound) for the next 3 years. Volunteers got their feet wet, and prioritized impairments to the river. In August of 2021, a final plan called the “Farm River Watershed Management Plan” was published.

Prepared by Fuss & O’Neill, this thorough document highlights the current issues with the river and potential future issues. It offers a series of project-based solutions and associated costs of each, plus possible funding sources to pay for the estimated $3 to $6.6 million to restore the river. To make this plan legitimate and eligible for funding, it needed the approvals of the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Connecticut DEEP. Both approved the plan earlier this year.

Now that the development of the plan has been successfully completed and ‘blessed’, it’s time to regroup and implement the plan! A grassroots group was started by Curt Johnson (past president of Save the Sound) and Linda Cummings (a local artist and active member of “Friends of the Farm River Estuary”) and assisted by Heather Wells-Sweeney (Chair of the Branford Conservation and Environment Commission). They organized four meetings this past April to determine community interest and discuss the best paths to move the plan forward. Ultimately, the group determined the first thing they needed to is create awareness and energy about the Farm River.

Your actions can bring the river back to life! You can help by physically participating in a restoration project or simply helping to engage our local and state officials. Emailing or writing a letter of support to your town manager, senator or representative can make a huge difference! This is a project you can be proud to say “yeah, I helped”. If this pilot study is successfully implemented, it will be offered as a model to other watersheds throughout the country with similar deficiencies. But it won’t happen without the support of local people like you, who care about this hidden and neglected treasure – not only for its importance as a drinking water source, but for its underutilized educational, recreational and visual potential.

The Farm River used to be clean and healthy. With your help, it can be again! There will be a boating estuary clean-up Saturday, June 17 at 145 Meadow Street, East Haven from at 10 am to 1 pm. Paddle & rowboats welcome.

For more information or to get involved, please contact: Heather Wells Sweeney heatherwsweeney@gmail.com or Curt Johnson cjohnson@savethesound.org.