DEEP discusses last year’s low flows on the Farmington River

Anglers will remember the summer of 2024 as a time of unusually low flows on the West Branch of the Farmington River.

The West Branch, which rises in Becket, Massachusetts, is impounded at two reservoirs before the famous trout fishing water starts below the Goodwin Dam in Hartland.

The water releases from Goodwin are consistently cold, which provides excellent habitat for trout, especially brown trout.

But an unusually dry period of 45-50 days hit the Northeast in general and the Northwest Corner in particular at the start of August 2024.

Because there was very little natural flow entering the Farmington system, fishing, tubing and other recreational uses suffered from a lack of water.

Erratic flows were not a new problem in last August. Earlier in 2024, the General Assembly, in response to complaints from various interested parties, passed Public Act 24-13, which addressed the regulatory aspects of the water. Gov. Ned Lamont signed the legislation in May 2024.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22, Mike Beauchene of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection led an online information session on how DEEP is going to proceed with implementing PA 24-13. (The draft plan is on the CT DEEP website.)

Beauchene explained the complicated regulatory situation, with the Metropolitan District Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers being the main players.

The bottom line is this: the commission has relinquished its historical claims to some of the water held in Coldbrook River lake and the Goodwin Reservoir.

DEEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will coordinate and manage releases with these elements in mind: Fish and Wildlife, Recreation and Tourism, Flood Risk Reduction, Hydropower, Safety, Stakeholder Engagement, and Challenges — such as drought or excessive rain.

Beauchene said the three “rules of the river” are:

The Metropolitan District Commission will release a minimum of 50 cubic feet per second from the Goodwin Dam at all times, the commission will pass all “natural inflow” — i.e. rain runoff — up to 150 cubic feet per second from the Goodwin Dam, and the commission will pass through Goodwin Dam all releases from the Otis Reservoir in Massachusetts.

Asked how DEEP will decide what amount of water to request from the Corps of Engineers at any given time, Beauchene said the requests will be determined by actual people, not an algorithm.

“There is nothing automated.”

Typically the agency will ask federal engineers to adjust the flow once a week, on a Friday.

Beauchene said the new regimen will help maintain trout habitat, especially for brown trout. Asked if it will result in more and larger brook trout, Beauchene said probably not.

While the plan aims for a more streamlined and transparent flow regimen, Beauchene warned that there is only so much any agency can do in the event of drought or flood.

Right now, he said, “We need a lot of snow or rain. And we need it fast.”

portal.ct.gov/deep/fishing/farmington-river-flow-plan