POMPERAUG RIVER WATERSHED Streamwalk Summary Report Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition Volunteer Streamwalk Program May 2010 Pomperaug River Watershed Streamwalk Summary Report February 16, 2014 Prepared for: Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition Prepared by: Jennifer Holton, Principal Ecologist of Streamscape Environmental, Keene, NH Acknowledgements: The Pomperaug River Watershed Streamwalk Program would not be possible without the assistance of local community volunteers. A special note of appreciation goes out to the more than 115 volunteers who willingly gave their time and effort to survey the Pomperaug River Watershed’s streams and ponds (refer to Appendix A for a full list of volunteers). In addition, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition would like to thank the Connecticut Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Housatonic Valley Association, and the Audubon Center at the Bent of the River for their time and assistance with training volunteers. The Volunteer Streamwalk Program has been funded in part by The Connecticut Community Foundation. For additional information contact: The Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition P.O. Box 141 185 East Flat Hill Road Southbury, CT 06488 203.267.1700 [email protected] www.pomperaug.org i Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Pomperaug River Watershed ....................................................................................................... 1 Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition (PRWC) ........................................................................ 2 Pomperaug River Watershed Volunteer Streamwalk Program ...................................................... 2 Program Design and Methodology ............................................................................................. 2 Volunteer Training ...................................................................................................................... 4 Data Entry, Analysis and Mapping ............................................................................................. 5 Data Use and Limitations ............................................................................................................ 5 Summary of Findings ...................................................................................................................... 6 Watershed-wide Results .............................................................................................................. 6 Water Quality Impairments ..................................................................................................... 8 Infrastructure Impairments...................................................................................................... 9 Diminished Riparian Zones ................................................................................................... 10 Pomperaug River Subwatershed Results................................................................................... 11 Survey Areas of Concern ....................................................................................................... 12 Nonnewaug River Subwatershed Results ................................................................................. 14 Survey Areas of Concern ....................................................................................................... 15 Weekeepeemee River Subwatershed Results ............................................................................ 17 Survey Areas of Concern ....................................................................................................... 18 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 20 Water Quality Impairments ....................................................................................................... 20 Infrastructure-related Impairments ............................................................................................ 21 Diminished Riparian Zones ....................................................................................................... 21 Dams and Ponds ........................................................................................................................ 22 Invasive Plants........................................................................................................................... 22 Bank Erosion ............................................................................................................................. 23 Dump/Wastes ............................................................................................................................ 23 Sediment .................................................................................................................................... 23 Streamflow ................................................................................................................................ 24 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 25 Appendix A: List of Streamwalk Volunteers Appendix B: Streamwalk Field Data Survey Form Appendix C: Maps Local Basins by Year Surveyed Number of Segments Surveyed per Local Basin ii Number of Impairments Recorded per Local Basin Water Quality Impairments by Local Basin Infrastructure-related Impairments by Local Basin Diminished Riparian Zones by Local Basin Dams / Impoundments by Local Basin Invasive Plants by Local Basin Streambank Erosion by Local Basin Dumps / Wastes by Local Basin Sediment Concerns by Local Basin Streamflow Concerns by Local Basin List of Tables Table 1. Impairment Categories and Associated Types of Conditions and/or Problems Reported .............. 4 Table 2. Impairment Tally for the Pomperaug River Subwatershed........................................................... 12 Table 3. Impairment Tally for the Nonnewaug River Subwatershed ......................................................... 14 Table 4. Impairment Tally for the Weekeepeemee River Subwatershed .................................................... 17 List of Figures Figure 1. Subregional Drainage Basins of the Pomperaug River Watershed ............................................... 3 Figure 2. Number of Impairments Recorded per Local Basin ...................................................................... 7 Figure 3. Number of Occurrences by Impairment Category ......................................................................... 8 Figure 4. Water Quality Impairments Reported ............................................................................................ 9 Figure 5. Infrastructure Related Impairments ............................................................................................... 9 Figure 6. Survey Areas with Diminished Riparian Zones Reported ........................................................... 10 Figure 7. Number of Impairments Observed per Local Basin in Pomperaug River Subwatershed ............ 11 Figure 8. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6800-01-1 ............................................................... 12 Figure 9. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6800-04-1 ............................................................... 13 Figure 10. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6800-09-1 ............................................................. 13 Figure 11. Number of Impairments Observed per Local Basin in Nonnewaug River Subwatershed ........ 14 Figure 12. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6802-12-1-L1 ........................................................ 15 Figure 13. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6802-00-2, 68 ....................................................... 16 Figure 14. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6802-03-2-R1 ....................................................... 16 Figure 15. Number of Impairments Observed per Local Basin in Weekeepeemee River Subwatershed ... 17 Figure 16. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6804-07-1b ........................................................... 18 Figure 17. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6804-08-1 ............................................................. 19 Figure 18. Breakdown of Impairments in Local Basin 6804-00-2-R1, 6804-00-1 ..................................... 19 iii INTRODUCTION Every summer and fall for the past 10 years, teams of volunteers have walked segments of the Pomperaug River and its tributaries to collect visual information about the watershed’s physical condition. The Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition (PRWC) began the Volunteer Streamwalk Program in the summer of 2000, shortly after the PRWC’s incorporation, to collect and analyze the data needed to make sound management decisions about the watershed and the future use of its water resources. This program has since become a long-term monitoring and assessment tool, allowing the PRWC to document and track changes in the watershed over time. The Streamwalk Program’s goals are two-fold: 1) to document the physical characteristics of the rivers and streams in the Pomperaug River watershed, and 2) to involve the community in river conservation stewardship. Information collected