Current Projects

The Branford River Project is entering its 9th year and many of the projects we started in earlier years are becoming well-established activities. New members continue to join the BRP every year and their interests and enthusiasm encourage us "old timers" to keep going with our existing projects and to branch out into new endeavors...

FISHWAY
Topping this year's docket of new projects is our plan to install a fishway at the Supply Ponds dam. Once in place, anadromous fish, particularly the alewife, will be able to reach prime spawning and nursery habitats in Queach and Pisgah Brooks. Alewives are an important prey species for striped bass, blue fish and other predatory fishes within the Sound as well as a valuable food source for nesting ospreys in early spring. The BRP has already raised $80,000 from sources including the Natural Resources Conservation Service (Dept of Agriculture), the Long Island Sound License Plate Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Construction on the dam should start in 2004.

PUMP-OUT BOAT
The pump-out boat is becoming a familiar and welcome sight in Branford Harbor and surrounding waters. Despite setbacks from uncooperative weather and an aging engine, boat operators pumped almost 12,000 gallons of sewage during 565 holding tank pump-outs in the first 49 days of operation. Working Thursday through Sunday until mid-October, the crew hopes to match and possibly exceed last year's records of 1032 pump outs totaling 22,289 gallons of material.

WATER QUALITY MONITORING
The Water Quality Committee meets once a month from May through September to collect water samples from six locations on the Branford River. Volunteers test samples for a wide range of chemical parameters. Last fall the Monitoring Committee added biological sampling to their collection of data. According to the DEP, our testing indicates the health of the stream is only "slightly impaired." This year the Committee received $2000 from the Rivers Alliance to significantly upgrade testing equipment to increase the accuracy of generated results. Watch for details in a public presentation summarizing their three years of data sometime towards the end of next winter/early spring. If you would like to assist the group with monitoring, please contact Chris Sullivan or SuZanne Botta.

RIVER CELEBRATION DAY
Planning is underway for the 6th Annual Branford River Celebration Day to be held in September 2004. As in previous years, paddlers will put their canoes and kayaks in behind Branford High School and paddle down to Branford Point where they can enjoy delicious food, music, and informational displays and children's games. Every year more and more people participate in this happy and educational event. Watch for announcement of the event in the summer.

A SUSTAINABLE GARDEN
The Branford River Project is concerned about the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers which may be dangerous to humans and Long Island Sound. Expanding on a research partnership begun three years ago, the University of Connecticut in conjunction with the River Project has created a garden of "sustainable" plants and shrubs that tolerate weather extremes and require little fertilization or other special care. (Learn more here.)

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
This year students in Nancy Ryan's fourth grade class chose the Branford River as the subject of a class project on how a book is created and published. The result, "The Beautiful, Bountiful Branford River Through Children's Eyes," is an impressive book containing a history of the river, each child's thoughts as he/she observed the river, suggestions for keeping the river clean, and photos taken by the children. We are hoping for a second printing this fall so that we can circulate the children's work more widely, perhaps at the River Celebration Day. A copy can be seen at the Blackstone Library.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
In addition to these major projects, BRP members have spent time caring for the lovely Jenny Lind Park with its peaceful views of the river, the demonstration rain garden behind the Police Station and the sustainable garden at the Community House. We also continue to install storm drain labels in targeted neighborhoods in town.

The BRP meets every fourth Thursday of the month at Canoe Brook Senior Center at 7:30 p.m.. For more information, call Maria Storm, 481-5765.