The Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District is continuing work on the Dudley Brook restoration project this summer.
“Dudley Brook watershed begins in the town of Castle Hill and flows southeast through Castle Hill, before terminating at its confluence with the Presque Isle Stream just east of West Chapman Road in Chapman. Dudley Brook is approximately 6.4 miles in length and has a drainage area of 4,059 acres. Land use is a mix of forested areas (69 percent), cultivated agriculture (18 percent), 6 percent wetlands and 5 percent pasture/hay land, and only 2 percent sparse residential development along roadways,” explained Kathryn Watson, spokesperson for the CASWCD.
Watson said due to its size, the brook has dealt with pollution issues that resulted in it receiving a lower rating. Work is being done to improve its status.
“Dudley Brook has a small impoundment at the lower end of the watershed. The impoundment was originally created for irrigation and other agricultural uses in the 1960s. It’s too small to navigate by canoe, but supports a cold-water fishery of brook trout. It is an important tributary to the Presque Isle Stream which is popular for brook trout fishing. Dudley Brook is classified as a Class A water body, but due to nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, part of the brook fails to meet Class A water quality standards,” she said.
Thanks to a grant received last year, improvements can now be made.
“In late August/early September 2014, the CASWCD received an EPA 319 grant for $24,482 to implement best management practices (BMP) on agricultural land in the Dudley Brook watershed. We will be working closely with a local farmer to install BMPs that are designed to improve soil quality for production, and to reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients from entering Dudley Brook. Preliminary estimates indicated this phase I project will reduce pollutant loading to the brook by about 157 tons of sediment a year,” said Watson.
Improvements are expected to be completed by 2016.
