WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Because Water Quality is one of the outstanding resource values for which the river was designated Wild and Scenic, the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee (LFSWS) provides funding for some of the monitoring and related research done by the Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA). Good water quality benefits biological diversity and river-related recreation which are both outstanding resource values. Polluted stormwater runoff (nonpoint source pollution) is the primary water quality concern in the watershed. Water quality is particularly important since the upper Farmington River provides the drinking water for Greater Hartford, serving more than 400,000 people. FRWA’s data are shared with its partners, including the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), and help to educate watershed residents. To learn more, visit the Farmington River Watershed Water Quality Report 2024 at frwa.org/resources. Projects funded by LFSWS included bacteria (E. coli) counts, continuous temperature monitoring, macroinvertebrate surveys, chloride monitoring and conductivity research on chloride pollution, and cyanobacteria research.
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Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild & Scenic 