What is a Headwater Stream?

Headwater streams are the smaller streams in the uppermost reaches of the watershed that are the lifeblood of the larger brooks and bodies of water they feed. Usually un-named and often un-mapped, they are integral to the watershed system and strongly influence the ecological health and integrity of the downstream waters.

Our watershed’s stream network begins on the steep mountain slopes above the Lake. These ageless mountain flows, that we step across during our tromps in the woods, join one another to form larger cold-water streams before entering Kezar. 

The Named Streams

There are dozens of named streams, of varying sizes, within the watershed. Some flow directly into Kezar; while others are further removed. But, eventually, all of these waters find their way into the lake.

The water quality of the streams directly impacts the lake and the ponds they feed. Just as it is critical to protect our lakeshores from erosion and the introduction of pollutants, it is equally important to protect our streams by having adequately-sized culverts, maintaining appropriate vegetative buffers, and updating our septic systems. Everything is connected, and if we value the pristine nature of our Lake and ponds, we must also pay attention to the ecological health of our streams.

Some of our watershed’s named streams include Sucker Brook which flows out of Horseshoe Pond and winds to Lower Bay. Great Brook, at Kezar’s northwest end, supplies nearly 1/3 of all the Lake’s water and Cold Brook, which sources from Speckled Mountain, passes through Evergreen Valley before entering Kezar. Willard Brook, with its multiple granite ledges and pools, springs from a higher elevation on Speckled and flows into Great Brook before entering Kezar. Landlocked salmon spawn in both Boulder and Great Brooks, and Eastern brook trout can be found in Andrews, Beaver, Coffin, Cold, Great, Martin, Red Rock, Shirley, and Willard Brooks. During significant storm events, rainwater races down the ancient channels of our headwater streams, joining with other mountain flows to convert our little babbling brooks into raging torrents.  

Great Brook is especially vulnerable to this extreme “flashiness,” but it usually subsides after 24 hours and reverts to its former calm. 

The cold, well-oxygenated water of Kezar’s headwater streams provide ideal habitat for Eastern brook trout. In fact, these western mountains of Maine will likely represent one of the last strongholds of this iconic species as the impacts of climate change and habitat degradation continue to shrink their former range.  

Protecting the integrity of our Watershed’s headwater stream network is a priority for KLWA and was a primary focus of KLWA’s conversations with the White Mountain National Forest regarding their Albany South timber harvest project.

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