QRWA - Quinnipiac Slide Show

Part 1 - Down The Quinnipiac - Its Natural Resources & Challenges

1. Many people know the Quinnipiac River only from its green signs and brief glimpses as they drive over bridges.
2. The river begins officially in Deadwood Swamp, about eight miles south of Hartford, and winds southward for 38 miles until it reaches New Haven Harbor, and then the Long Island Sound.
3. But it actually begins wherever raindrops fall in its watershed. This is a view to the east from Southington Mountain of the wide forested valley of the Eight Mile river in Southington, which flows into the Quinnipiac. Water flows down the hill slopes in little brooks and underground, as groundwater,
4. seeping out into wetlands, and then reaching the smaller tributary rivers of the Quinnipiac, like the Eight Mile River, the Ten Mile River, and the Muddy River in Wallingford, each of which has its own sub-watershed, as shown on your map.
5. Wetlands and forest are home to many kinds of creatures and beautiful wildflowers, like this cardinal flower. Their plants and soils filter and purify water before it reaches the river.
6. But much of the upper Quinnipiac flows through urban areas, sometimes in pipes, where it picks up polluted, unfiltered runoff. This bridge is in downtown Plantsville, in Southington.
7. The Quinnipiac benefits us in many ways. In Cheshire and Meriden the river is used for fishing and canoeing, including the Quinnipiac Watershed Association "Downriver Classic" Race in May. There are at least seven hiking trails along the river.
8. Reservoirs along its tributary streams like Roaring Brook reservoir on Southington Mountain supply drinking water, as do underground aquifers. Up to 5 million gallons may be pumped from the North Cheshire Wellfield each day. The Quinnipiac also furnishes water for irrigation of fertile farmland along the Quinnipiac in Cheshire .
9. Drinking water also comes from McKenzie Reservoir on the Muddy River in Wallingford, which also provides irrigation for an important farming area. Diversion of water for water supply may reduce river flow levels, and may not leave enough for fish and for canoeing during summer dry spells.
10. The river carries away the waste water from sewage treatment plants, like this one in Cheshire . Fortunately treatment is at an advanced level in all the upper watershed towns.
11. Historically, water power was used to power industry along the river. In the scenic Meriden Gorge Carpenter's Dam, which powered a civil war button factory. In the early 20th century factory workers crossed the river in Meriden at Red Bridge, a historic lenticular truss bridge.
12. Goods were transported along a short-lived rail line from Meriden to Waterbury; in the Gorge on the level former rail bed there is now a wonderful trail for hiking. Train tracks are still in active use along the level, low land along the east shore of the lower river.
13. In the mid river, large dams were used to power the silver industry, forming impounded lakes like Hanover Pond and Community Lake.
14. These lakes support aquatic life like the painted turtle, which tolerates warm and somewhat polluted water.
15. The dam of Community Lake in Wallingford broke in 1979, and the woods and meadow you see here is the former lakebed, supporting many kinds of wildlife - plans are underway to rebuild a lower dam, to partly re-flood the area, and to create new wetlands.
16. Floodwaters cause little damage where the river has wooded floodplain buffers, which are also valuable as wildlife habitat However, there are serious flooding problems in Meriden and Wallingford where population centers developed to provide labor for mid-river industry. There are too many houses and paved areas and not enough wetlands and forest to soak up rain waters. Flooding problems where there has been rapid recent development, especially in North Haven along the Muddy River.
17. Wallingford has important industries like Cytec industries (which manufactures plastic) and Connecticut Steel which use river water as cooling water in industrial processes, and as a place to discharge industrial wastes, after treatment. Industrial discharges and polluted runoff from pavement, roofs, and lawns reduce water quality.
18. Further south in North Haven is a narrow, 400 acre undeveloped Quinnipiac River State Park, a wildlife preserve and hunting area, where the QRWA holds an annual hike.
19. South of the park, the tides are pronounced (this shot is taken at low tide), but the water is not yet salty.
20. In its final six miles, after it is joined by the Muddy River, the Quinnipiac River, is a wide tidal estuary. Although bordered by highways and railroad tracks,
21. The marsh is a large beautiful, wildlife oasis. Marsh grasses and microscopic plants and animals form the base of an estuary food chain.
22. Since 1995 The QRWA has done early morning bird surveys for the CT DEP Wildlife Division, and has found that 12 state-listed species (endangered, rare, or special concern) use the marsh, including the threatened Least Bittern. Birds like bitterns and snowy egrets eat small fish and invertebrates.
23. like this mud crab, which are food for larger predators, like bluefish, and
24. osprey. The QRWA has erected nesting platforms in the marsh, which have been used for the past four years. Because top predators bio-accumulate pollutants, which often prevent eggs from hatching, successful nesting by osprey is a good sign.
25. People use the marsh as well; The QRWA holds canoe tours.
26. Muskrats are still trapped though not in the huge numbers of the past; Quinnipiac pelts fetched the highest prices and the New York fur market; trappers used to camp out on Pemmican Island.
27. A few fishermen make their living catching eel for bait.
28. Approaching new Haven,
29. you will notice there is more of a certain tall, waving reed called Phragmites, which colonizes dredge spoils and spreads more quickly in areas disturbed by mosquito ditching, and in slightly salty marshes. Bridges have narrowed the river, so it lets less salt water into the marsh. Now there is more Phragmites reed and less salt hay or cord grass, which was harvested in large quantities until the turn of the century. The DEP is beginning a reed removal project, in order to promote other marsh grasses.
30. You'll also see open water areas where clay was mined in the 1800's, and you'll see the first oil storage tanks. 7 million cubic yards were dredged from New Haven Harbor and deposited on the marshes after World War 2, to deepen the port for oil tankers. Open water habitat is valuable for certain waterfowl and fish, and the CTDEP will create more small, ponded areas as part of the marsh restoration plan.
31. The scenic lower Quinnipiac in Fairhaven
32. has a thriving seed oyster industry; the oysters, filter feeders, eat algae and food particles from the Quinnipiac estuary, thereby reducing nutrient overloading of LI Sound. Note the fishing boats and
33. piles of cultch, or oyster shells. They are spread on the river bottom as a clean, hard surface for the oysters to grow on.
34. Starfish mops are used by oystermen to entangle starfish which eat the young oysters. Due to pollution from industrial discharges and poorly treated sewage the Quinnipiac Oyster industry dwindled to almost nothing in the middle of this century. Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and upgrading of sewage treatment plants oysters are doing much better, because the river is much cleaner.
35. Fairhaven has historic buildings, used for shucking oysters in colonial days and
36. attractive renovated industrial buildings such as Brewery Square, some made of bricks made from Quinnipiac marsh clay.
37. Brewery Square is next to Quinnipiac River Park, which was a scrap metal yard in the 1970's.
38. Just downstream of Fairhaven, the Quinnipiac flows into New Haven Harbor and is joined by The Mill River, another New Haven waterway. Further west, the West River flows into New Haven Harbor.
39. The beauty of the Quinnipiac and its beaches in New Haven, as well as water quality, are marred by debris and trash which floats downriver; ongoing clean-ups work by the New Haven River Keeper and Parks department and community clean-ups continue to deal with this problem.
40. This slide show was produced by the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, a non-profit group which works hard to protect the river and to increase appreciation of its natural resources. Our association runs recreational and educational programs and is also involved in hands-on conservation, advocacy, and planning. We work closely with town and state governments. Cooperative watershed planning and protection is now increasing as an exciting new "Quinnipiac Watershed Initiative" starts to take shape. Taking part in clean-ups, joining the QRWA and participating in the Quinnipiac Initiative Team are ways for you to help the Quinnipiac - and Long Island Sound.

Our thanks to Tom Mudry, Frank Pearson, Bill Bennett, Elizabeth Marks, Heather Crawford, Jay West, and others, who contributed slides for this show.