Chickasheen Brook, Yawgoo Pond, and Barber Pond are interconnected waterways in southern Rhode Island. Water quality monitoring data collected between 1998 and 2002 showed elevated phosphorus concentrations attributed to the inundation of Arrow Swamp, which flows into Chickasheen Brook, due to beaver activity. As a result, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management added the three waterbodies to the state’s Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of impaired waters: Barber Pond for low dissolved oxygen (1998), Yawgoo Pond for low dissolved oxygen (1998) and total phosphorus (2002), and Chickasheen Brook for total phosphorus (2002).
Removal of beavers and their dams restored the flow regime to Chickasheen Brook, reducing phosphorus levels in the brook and downstream ponds. Monitoring results show reduced phosphorus levels, indicating that management efforts have made significant progress toward meeting water quality standards.
Learn more about the Chickasheen Brook Watershed, Rhode Island, success story here.
Source: US EPA
