Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Connecticut Rivers Farmington River
Site
Location: Basic Information: Stretching across 33 towns and 609 square miles, the Farmington River Watershed is an essential resource for life in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Farmington River is the only river to flow in all four cardinal directions in the Northern Hemisphere. The Farmington River is a river located in northwest Connecticut and southwest Massachusetts. Its length is 81 miles (130 km) via its longest branch, and its watershed covers 609 square miles (1,577 km²). The river historically played an important role in small-scale manufacturing in towns alongside it, but it is now mainly used for recreation and drinking water. The Farmington River Watershed Association is a non-profit organization for conservation and preservation of this river. Its two main branches start in southwestern
Massachusetts. The West Branch starts in Becket, Massachusetts and flows
southeasterly to Otis, Massachusetts. A 14-mile (23 km) portion of the
western branch has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River. The
eastern branch is now mostly covered by the
Barkhamsted Reservoir. The
two branches join in New Hartford, Connecticut. The upper reaches of the
river flow mostly southward, but the river turns northward in
Farmington, Connecticut and then runs mostly north and east until it
flows into the Connecticut River near the Loomis Chaffee School in
Windsor, Connecticut.
Season: Site Contact Information: Farmington River Watershed 749 Hopmeadow Street Simsbury, Connecticut 06070
Phone:
860- 658-4442
Site Coordinates:
USGS Quadrangles: Driving Directions: Directions Map: ITouch Map: Boat Launch Information: ADA Access: Site Description: Environment: Additional Info: Dams On The River: Colebrook River Dam Is on the West Branch Farmington River impounding Colebrook River Lake in Colebrook, Connecticut. This dam is just above West Branch Reservoir, which backs up to the bottom of the dam Rainbow Dam A 68-foot dam with a hydroelectric generator and a fish ladder, dams the river at Windsor, a few miles before the river flows into the Connecticut River. Saville Dam The largest dam on the east branch which impounds the Barkhamsted Reservoir.
USGS Real-Time Water Data Information
There are several
whitewater sections. One of these, the so-called "Upper Farmington"
section of the West Branch in New Boston, Massachusetts, is about 7
miles (11 km) long. It is Class 2 through farm and woods scenery to an
iron bridge, where kayak and canoe slalom races are held. Below the
bridge the river becomes Class 3-4, very technical at low water, and
technical and pushy at higher water, with a short gorge with several
abrupt drops. The biggest of these is about four feet at Decoration
Rock. Below, the river continues fast and technical with many rocks and
constant maneuvering required. The river is continuously rapid, leading
through larger drops at Battering Ram rapid and Corkscrew. Eventually it
flattens to Class 2 until a final, ledge rapid at Bear's Den, just above
the reservoir. The Upper Farmington is barely runnable (very scratchy
with many exposed rocks and pinning possibilities) during fall dam
releases, and is a much better run at levels of about 600 cubic feet per
second (16,990 l/s), or about 5 feet (1.5 m) on the internet gauge for
that section.
Tariffville Gorge Dam
A second whitewater section is found in Tariffville, Connecticut, one
mile (1.6 km) of technical Class 3 water which is runnable all year
round. The river is normally paddled at levels between 1.5 and 2.5 feet
(45-75 cm) on the internet gauge; above 2.5 feet (75 cm) it becomes
significantly heavier and more dangerous. This section includes the
famous T-ville Hole, where kayakers can practice hole surfing and
freestyle moves above a flat pool. Below the Hole is a broken dam, where
the river funnels through an abrupt four foot drop into a large wave.
This area is popular with swimmers in summer, and it is risky due to
heavy currents and undercut rocks. There have been at least three fatal
drownings in the Tariffville Gorge section, primarily people who were
not properly prepared or trained for the heavy rapids and pinning
obstacles in the gorge. Paddlers without helmets, lifejackets and Class
3 whitewater skills should end downriver trips at Tariffville Park, just
above the start of the gorge.
Looking down the river
to where the broken part of the dam lays, Other whitewater areas include
Satan's Kingdom in Riverton, Connecticut, which is popular with tubers,
and the Collinsville section in Collinsville and Unionville,
Connecticut, which is about four miles of Class 2 training water with a
bicycle and pedestrian path on the right side of the river. Entrance to
the park is free. A service will also pick tubers up and drop them off
at certain points.
The west
branch of the river includes two hydroelectric dams in West Hartland and
Colebrook, run by Connecticut's Metropolitan District Commission. The
largest dam on the east branch is the Saville Dam, which impounds the
Barkhamsted Reservoir.
Farmington River - Collinsville Farmington River Route 18 to Highway 187 Litchfield County Farmington River - Hogback Road to Riverton Section Farmington River - Riverton to Satan's Kingdom Parking Area Section
A number of dams have been built on the river since European settlement, usually to power mills and other industry. A few, such as in Collinsville, are still mostly intact.
In 1820, the waters of the Farmington River were significantly polluted from industrial usage. Huge tracts of forest were cleared to make way for paper mills, cotton mills, saw mills, and tanneries, which dumped waste water and sewage into the Farmington River and its estuaries. This significantly reduced the trout population and the river was deemed unsuitable for swimmers. By the end of the 19th century, once industrialization of the river declined, the river’s health improved. More dramatic improvements occurred in the 1950’s. In 1953, the Farmington River Watershed Association a non-profit environmental organization was established, and set out to protect and restore the natural resources of the river, its watershed, and its tributaries. After the devastating flood in 1955, large sewage treatment plants were built on the river in the 1960’s. This greatly reduced the level of untreated sewage entering the river system. In 1972, significant amendments were made to the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act established a set of regulations for discharging pollutants into U.S. bodies of water. "Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained. EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls discharges." (33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq.)
In 1994 a
14-mile segment of the Farmington River received federal Wild & Scenic
designation. This is the only river in Connecticut, and one of only six in
New England, with such a designation .
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