Bloody Brook

An excavated farm pond on Bloody Brook.

Formerly known as Muddy Brook, Bloody Brook was renamed following a battle between Native Americans and early settlers that took place on its banks in 1794. The brook flows through the eastern lowland portion of the Mill River watershed and is underlain by soft clays and silts, which were deposited when Glacial Lake Hitchcock filled the valley (~ 13,000 years before present). The watershed encompasses a small portion of the Pocumtuck Range and most of the land in the community of South Deerfield. All told, the Bloody Brook sub-watershed measures 3558 acres, with the brook itself flowing approximately 2 miles before entering the Mill River in Whately.

Bloody Brook in South Deerfield. This section was channelized during construction of Route 91.

Research by Smith College during 1997-2000 revealed that Bloody Brook had the worst water quality of any Mill River tributary. This finding, however, was not surprising as Bloody Brook weaves through the most densely developed area in the entire Mill River Watershed, flowing between houses and businesses, behind parking lots, along farm fields and lawns and under Routes 5/10 and Interstate 91. The principal sources of pollution include sediment, salt and other contaminants found in road runoff (especially from Route 5/10 and Interstate 91) and excess fertilizers from lawns, agricultural fields and possibly from failing septic systems.

Because Bloody Brook is slow-moving and much of it is open to the sun, its shallow waters warm in the summer. The result is that it supports fish species tolerant of lower oxygen levels, such as chain pickerel, bluegills and bass. There are also abundant crayfish in its silty mud banks. A 1999 study of the invertebrates living in the water revealed only midge larvae, which were tolerant to poor water quality conditions.