1. Pomperaug River State of the Watershed Report
2. Stream Committee Programs
3. Critical Land Analysis
4. Water Quality Monitoring
4. Community Septic System Inventory
1. POMPERAUG RIVER STATE OF THE WATERSHED REPORT - Completed in 2001
This report provides an overview of current conditions and available information regarding the watershed. It gives a summary
of the basic hydrogeological and biological principles behind watershed ecology; summarizes the quality and quantity of
the Pomperaug's watersheds; and outlines potential problems in the watershed with regard to water supply. The report
is available from the Coalition's website and in the libraries of all Pomperaug watershed towns.
2. STREAM COMMITTEE PROGRAMS
a. Volunteer Streamwalk Program - Ongoing each spring & summer
The Coalition began its Volunteer Streamwalk Program in 2000. The objectives are primarily to document the
physical characteristics of the Pomperaug watershed and to involve the community in river conservation and the stewardship
of watersheds. Additionally, the program will:
- assist conservation organizations and land use decision makers in obtaining restoration grants through the use of
local up-to-date date environmental data;
- provide regional and local planning initiatives with information that can help target both remediation and
conservation efforts for watersheds;
- provide municipalities involved in the CT DEP Stormwater Phase II Management Program with information to help fulfill
their reporting requirements;
- provide education and outreach programs based on the information and assist others (e.g., Audubon, local land trusts,
high schools) in doing so.
Each spring, stream walk volunteers from all watershed towns are trained by The Coalition with assistance of
organizations such as The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Housatonic Valley Association at the Bent of the
River Audubon Center in Southbury. As of June 2005, The Coalition has recruited and trained 99 VSWP volunteers representing
all of our watershed towns.
The information collected by stream walk volunteers includes water depth and width, vegetation and land use types along
the banks, stream bottom composition, and noticeable 'impairments' such as excessive algae growth, sedimentation, erosion,
and the presence of stormwater pipes. Volunteers also document their findings with photographs. This information has
been transferred The Coalition's Geographic Information System (GIS).
The Coalition compiles and analyzes these data and reports on existing conditions, trends and trouble spots on the
rivers. Maps generated by GIS as well as recommendations on how to use the information are included in a Stream Walk
Report modeled after a similar program reports by Norwalk River Association and NRCS. An associated interactive mapping
site was made available on the Coalition's website in 2005.
Results: As of the fall of 2006, 80% of the watershed has been covered by the Streamwalk Survey. The Coalition
has identified 119 impairments and 50 erosion sites and erosion sites were ranked to support stream restoration
programs, created a GIS database, and ranked erosion sites to help get funding to support stream restoration programs by
The Northwest Conservation District and
others. A summary of the survey data collected from 2000-2003 can be viewed through an interactive map or by reading our
first summary report.
This program has been funded in part by The Connecticut
Community Foundation.
Future Plans: Once all basins have been surveyed by stream walk volunteers, the Coalition plans to update the
survey every two years. Areas of concern in the basin may require more frequent monitoring, especially after
significant storm/flooding events. Because the information collected is really a "snap shot" in time of the river system,
areas of concern may require more in depth assessment by professionals and/or frequent monitoring especially after
significant storm/flooding events.
b b. Macroinvertebrate Study
The CT DEP is encouraging volunteer groups to assist in monitoring the State's many streams and rivers and to report
their findings to DEP's Ambient Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Program. Monitoring that is performed to
accepted standards supports activities of the DEP is used in assessing surface water quality conditions and trends.
A daylong training/data collection workshop was held for the Coaltion at the Bent of the River by Mike Beauchene,
Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator for the CT DEP, in the fall of 2006. Volunteers conducted rapid bioassays
of macroinvertebrates in the Pomperaug, the Nonnewaug and the Weekeepeemee. Data from the workshop were submitted to the
CT DEP for incorporation into DEP's annual water quality assessment report.
Action Item: Participate annually in the CT DEP Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Program.
c Groundwater Monitoring Program
Monitoring of groundwater levels at several monitoring wells in the watershed has been taken over by the Stream
Committee volunteers. This information is useful for the calibration and verification of the USGS MODFLOW and PRMS models
and for management of the watershed, especially during periods of drought. The data is recorded and maintained by
the Coalition.
3. CRITICAL LANDS ANALYSIS - Targeted for completion in 2006.
The Coalition's Land Use Committee (LUC) has developed an analysis of lands that are critical to the health of the
Pomperaug Watershed. The LUC understands that as land use becomes more intense, water can become degraded. For
example, converting an “open area” (one that is forested or in agriculture) to a residential area prevents rainfall
from sinking into the ground (replenishing our aquifer) and instead directs it to wetlands, streams and rivers. Along
the way this rainfall (also known as stormwater) travels over rooftops, roads, and parking lots - typically picking
up pollutants not associated with “open areas”. A goal of the LUC, then, is to understand the location and level of
protection of the “open areas” in the watershed.
The first step in the process was to identify on a map of the watershed those areas that are critical to its
hydrology (surface and ground water processes). These areas include: wetlands, flood plains, the surface water bodies
(rivers & streams) themselves and the Pomperaug Aquifer (underground water sources) especially areas within public
water supply aquifer protection areas. In addition, the Coalition has been working with the
US Geological Survey on a surface and ground water
model, which has allowed the identification of 29 local watersheds
that are most important for infiltration or aquifer recharge.
The next step in the process was to determine the “vulnerability” of the parcels of land which contain or
are adjacent to those hydrologically critical areas. The LUC determined that “vulnerability” for the purposes
of this analysis will indicate that the parcel can be converted to a more intense land use (therefore less protective
of water). Consequently, the LUC felt comfortable excluding from their consideration those parcels that:
- are already protected in perpetuity (federal, state, town open space, land trust lands, conservation
easements, cemeteries, water company land class I and II);
- already contain an intense land use (residential, commercial or industrial);
- or contain development constraints such as wetlands or steep slopes.
Not surprisingly perhaps, most of the lands further assessed are in agriculture or are forested.
Agricultural land was identified as some of the most important land remaining available in large tracts, especially
with water access, adjacent to surface water or above water supply aquifers. Much of the farmland in the Pomperaug
Watershed is located in flood plain areas so activities on those lands have the potential for significant impacts on our
water resources. The Council of Governments for the Central Naugatuck Valley
(COGCNV) developed a series of geographic information system (computerized mapping or GIS) maps of land in agricultural
use in 2000 (base map is from 2000 aerials and updated to 2003 by towns), the prime and important agricultural soils,
and land assessed under PA 490. These maps were studied by the LUC during a series of intense meetings
and “vulnerable” agricultural lands were identified. The LUC, with generous financial and technical support
from the COGCNV, developed an accompanying paper, The Role
of Agricultural Land in the Preservation of the Pomperaug Watershed.
The LUC had discussions in 2005 with Adam Moore, Executive Director of
CT Forest & Park, Larry Rousseau, of the CT Department of
Environmental Protection, and others to develop a set of criteria to identify those forested areas which would be
most critical to water protection. The COGCNV prepared another similar series of GIS analyses for the LUC targeting
forested lands.
- “Vulnerable” forested lands which contain or are adjacent to hydrologically critical areas become even
more important when they also meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Are adjacent to committed (in perpetuity) open land;
- Parcels over 25 acres (minimum for PA 490 protection) in size that can be converted to a more intense use
(with an owner currently interested in stewardship);
- Contain slopes too steep for forestry management without erosion problems;
- Contain endangered species;
With the Critical Lands Analysis completed, the LUC will focus on conducting an associated educational outreach
program with generous financial assistance from the Southbury Community Trust Fund. You can look at the LUC’s maps
by clicking on these links:
The LUC will provide the finalized maps and accompanying publications to selected landowners, watershed land
use commissioners, land trusts and others who can help the Coalition protect these areas, and will also host workshops
for them upon their request. The maps and publications will also become available in watershed town's libraries.
Results
The LUC's Critical Lands Analysis has already been successfully utilized by the Southbury Land Trust (SLT). The SLT
used the Coalition's scientific analysis to educate landowners about the importance of preserving their property. The
SLT also motivated and continues to motivate their community to support the land trust in protecting land for
aesthetic, recreational and water protection reasons. The SLT successfully obtained grant funding using the
Coalition's scientific analysis and maps to purchase 2 significant properties in 2004-2005. Additionally, maps and
reports will be made available through workshops with targeted users and on the Coalition's website and/or in watershed
town libraries.
4. WATER QUALITY MONITORING - Targeted for development by 2006. Currently seeking
members for involvement in this committee..
The Coalition will be working with representatives from watershed towns, the CT DEP and the USGS to develop a cost
effective surface and groundwater monitoring protocol that will help signal septic system failures, chemical spills,
and other contamination in the river and aquifer. The monitoring program will also provide a baseline for knowing
when changes have occurred.
The Coalition is also following the ongoing CT DEP investigations into gasoline components (MTBE and BTEX)
that have contaminated groundwater along parts of Route 6 in Woodbury.
Action Item: Establish an active water quality monitoring committee.
5. COMMUNITY SEPTIC SYSTEM INVENTORY - No activity at this time
There are 14 community septic systems in Woodbury and eight in Southbury. The Coalition has created a database of
community septic system managers and has organized an informational meeting between the CT DEP and these managers.
The Towns have been encouraged to establish funds to cover the possible failure impacts and expensive repairs of these
septic systems. The Coalition considers this potential source of contamination to be a significant long-term risk to
the watershed.
Action Item: Follow up with the CT DEP to determine whether the towns established such funds.
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