When a Murderkill Tributary Action Team member became aware of some increased sedimentation along the edges of McColley's Pond, knowledge gained from working with the Team helped him quantify the problem and initiate a solution.  Don Wujtewicz moved to the area in 1999 and been able to land his boat on what would become his property.  After a few years, though, he couldn't even launch his canoe from the water's edge.   "I thought at first that the water level had dropped,” he said.  Actually, sedimentation had decreased water depth by almost two feet over about an acre of the pond's area.  After talking with the Kent Conservation District and the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Wujtewicz decided to enlist the help of Lyle Jones, a co-facilitator of the Team and a Program Manager with the Watershed Assessment Section.  Jones was able to compose a team of soil and water professionals to walk the property and explore the headwaters of Browns Branch.

McColley's Pond is located in a largely agricultural area, though there is a cement operation, gravel washing plant and some development in its headwaters.  The Pond is actually owned by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and there is no public access for recreational use.  As the team followed the tributaries of McColley’s Pond, Indian Branch and Browns Branch, they noticed that cattle had direct access to the stream on a local farm, causing the banks to severely erode and the cows were eroding the hillside in their pasture.   Unfortunately, the farmer had little money to put Best Management Practices (BMPs), such as buffers or fences, into place to control the erosion.  The situation was further complicated by the fact the farmer did not own the property.  Mark Biddle, an environmental scientist with the Watershed Assessment Branch, was able to suggest some BMPs that would help and find funding for the project.

Biddle walked through the site with the farmer and spotted specific locations where BMPs could halt the erosion of his property.   "Buffers along streams will stabilize eroded banks and fencing will keep the cattle out of the area” Biddle explained.  Guttering and waste holding facilities were added to some buildings and steep slopes were seeded to control runoff.  A feasibility study for dredging McColley’s Pond was also completed as part of the project.  This includes a sampling of the sediment, because dredging causes sediment and any other deposits to be temporarily re-suspended in the water.  Mark is quick to clarify, adding, “Right now we know there is increased sediment action of an unknown origin.   Hopefully, testing will determine where it came from and then we can work on stopping the runoff.”

In order to pay for the projects, Mark assisted the farmer in applying for a DNREC Penalty Funds grant which can be utilized for special one-time projects.  Mark says these can be used “…for just about anything --- BMPs, educational material, even equipment.”  The money in the penalty fund is gathered from business and company fines paid for violations of Delaware’s environmental regulations.  This special funding paid for about a quarter of the project costs.  The remainder was funded through a cost-share from the Federal Farm Bill programs.  The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and its partner, the Kent Conservation District, assisted the cost-share application process.  Wujtewicz remarked about the amount of resources that were able to pull together to use for this cause, saying, “I appreciate all the cooperation between the Conservation District and DNREC and other agencies because this project wouldn't have happened otherwise.”

The planning stages of this project are done and work is scheduled to begin at any time.  Thanks to the perceptions of Tributary Action Team member Don Wujtewicz, the cooperation of the land owner and government resources, the problem will be hopefully be resolved and McColley’s Pond will no longer be threatened with sedimentation.