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Connecticut River Basins

There are 19 principal river basins that lie entirely or partially in New England. Five river basins lie in parts of Connecticut to include the Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, Pawcatuck and Hudson. All except the Hudson River Basin have Corps' flood risk management projects within their drainage areas.

Connecticut River Basin
The Connecticut River Basin, one of the largest river basins in New England, stretches from southern Quebec to Long Island Sound, off the Connecticut coast.

Of the 11,250 square miles in the basin, 1,436 square miles, or about 13 percent, lie in Connecticut; 3,928 square miles, or 35 percent lie in Vermont; 3,406 square miles, or about 27 percent l in New Hampshire; and 2,726 square miles, or 24 percent, lie in Massachusetts. About 114 square miles (one percent) are located in Quebec.

The Connecticut River Basin has a total length of 280 miles and a maximum width of 60 miles. In Connecticut, it occupies most of Hartford and Middlesex Counties and minor portions of Tolland, Litchfield, New London and New Haven Counties.

Housatonic River Basin
The Housatonic River Basin lies principally in western Connecticut and southwestern Massachusetts. Two small sections extend into southeastern New York.

The basin is 98 miles long with a maximum width of 35 miles. It comprises an area of 1,950 square miles, 1,232 (63 percent) of which lie in Connecticut, 500 (26 percent) in Massachusetts, and 218 (11 percent in New York.

In Connecticut, the Housatonic River Basin covers most of Litchfield County, the southwest corner of Hartford County, the north and east sections of Fairfield County, and the western third of New Haven County.

Thames River Basin
The Thames River Basin lies mostly in the eastern third of Connecticut, with small sections extending into southern Massachusetts and northwestern Rhode Island.

The basin comprises an area of 1,474 square miles. Of this, 1,162 square miles (75 percent) lie in Connecticut, 251 (20 percent) lie in Massachusetts, and 61 (five percent) lie in Rhode Island.

The Thames River basin is 67 miles long with a maximum width of 38 miles. In Connecticut, it covers all of Windham County and the eastern two-thirds of Tolland and New London Counties.

Pawcatuck River Basin
The Pawcatuck River Basin lies principally in the southwestern corner of Rhode Island. Two small portions are located in southeastern Connecticut.

The basin extend over and area of 303 square miles, 246 (81 percent) of which lie in Rhode Island and 57 (19 percent) in Connecticut. It covers part of the New London and Windham Counties in Connecticut and part of Washington County and most of Kent County in Rhode Island. It is 22 miles long with a maximum width of 22 miles.

The Pawcatuck River Basin contains a vast amount of wetland, which absorbs potentially damaging flood waters from rivers and streams.

- Updated: 12 June 2015