Mud Brook begins its flow in Hudson, Ohio, and travels slowly southwest to its confluence with the Cuyahoga River in Akron. It is treated as a County Ditch, and therefore it has been channelized and reconstructed along its route to serve as a means to move water quickly out of the area. Land use choices have encouraged these alterations, with consequences to the natural functioning of the brook.

The Hudson Land Conservancy has purchased 45 acres of high quality wetlands in Hudson, including portions of Mud Brook and Powers Brook. The site is part of a large (100+ acre) high-quality wetland complex. Much of the land had in the past been tiled and drained for agricultural purposes. Currently about 19 acres of existing wetlands are on the site.

The watershed's proximity to major transportation routes and increasing development in and around Hudson puts development pressure on the natural infrastructure, and on its ability to act as a major water storage and filtering asset.

Throughout much of Mud Brook’s length, surrounding land uses have altered its natural shape. Ditch dredging has straightened and deepened the stream channel. Typically, dredged sediments were cast along side the stream banks. Also, housing has encroached on the stream, eliminating segments of riparian corridors and floodplains. 

These activities have degraded the stream’s capability for providing stable habitats and assimilating pollutants.

Mud Brook watershed, similar to the rest of the Cuyahoga River basin, rests on top of an ancient river valley, which was filled in with glacial sediment at the end of the last ice age.

Underlying the watershed is 400 feet of permeable glacial deposit that is continuously recharged with precipitation and aids in the areas abundant groundwater resource. 

Much of the glacial depressions in the landscape called “kettle holes”, have since filled in forming peat deposits.  These peat deposits better known as Carlisle muck soil, are hotspots for high quality wetlands that support wildlife habitat, hydrologic and recreational functions. 

Carlisle muck wetlands represent Mud Brook’s key resources and deserve protection. 

Upper Mud Brook basin is a natural low gradient, wetland-induced slow-moving stream. It average slope in this section is 4.2 feet/mile. From Beaver Pond (in Cuyahoga Falls) South to Mud Brook’s confluence with the Cuyahoga River, the stream flow is much faster with an average slope of 68ft/mile.

Land use activities have also influenced Mud Brook’s hydrology. Mud Brook is mapped and managed as County Ditch #1, which requires dredging and channelizing activities. This has caused the stream to hold more water and move it off the landscape quicker.

Suburban development and related wetland losses affect Mud Brook’s hydrology. Urbanization typically removes important ecosystems that trap, filter and slowly release storm water back into streams. Ohio EPA noted heavy stream flows in areas of the watershed that have been experiencing excessive erosion and siltation.

Properly maintaining wetlands helps to control storm water naturally, and could have helped reduce the 2003 flooding experienced in the watershed. Between 1994 and 2000 it was estimated that 13 acres of wetlands were lost.