Greetings!!
Spring is here! No matter where you live, YOU LIVE IN A
WATERSHED.
Water runs off the land and into local streams, rivers, ponds.
Water infiltrates the land to replenish groundwater sources, including
drinking water aquifers. Development, particularly sprawl,
increases impervious surfaces, contaminates the water and limits
groundwater recharge. The Connecticut Council on Environmental
Quality has called sprawl the most serious environmental threat facing
the state. Read a recent
article on the relationship between sprawl and water quality by
Eric Hammerling, Executive Director of Farmington River Watershed
Association.
100% of Simsbury's drinking water comes from beneath Simsbury's
land. The Stratton Brook Aquifer is the largest and most
significant drinking water aquifer in town. Four Aquarion Water
Company wells drawl from this aquifer to provide 73% of the town
drinking water (2004 report). The watershed above the aquifer
is designated the Aquifer Protection Zone (figure below).
Development is inappropriate for this land.
Simbury's mapping of the Stratton Brook Aquifer Protection Zone (Click
to enlarge).
If you live in an Aquifer Protection Zone, it is of vital importance
that you properly dispose of all chemicals, use only organic lawn and
garden products, and use such products sparingly.
Reminder: Two upcoming events:
1. Saving
Land and Water Together
Friday, May 19, 2006
9 AM to 2 PM (8:30, check-in and light breakfast)
The deKoven House in Middletown (directions here)
MUST RSVP ASAP to:
Rivers Alliance of Connecticut
Tel: 860-361-9349
E-mail: rivers@riversalliance.org
web: www.riversalliance.org
2. Air,
Land, Water...and the Link to Our Children's Health
Sunday, May 21, 2006
4:30 - 6:00 PM (refreshments and reception to follow)
Greenwich Country
Day School
Middle School Auditorium
410 Old Church Road, Greenwich
Reservations at events@gltrust.org,
or 629-2151
For more information and directions visit www.gltrust.org
Mark your calendars: Eggstock 2006, June
24 at Flamig Farm.
Keep The Woods!