Every Homeowner A Conservationist—

Protecting The Water Supply One Person At A Time

By Kendra Bobowick

“We all have different ways of saying it, but the message is an important one,” said landscape designer Sarah Middeleer.

The message? The conservationists, environmentalists, artists, and town officials who spoke Wednesday evening at the “What is an Aquifer” discussions all made the same appeal: protect the environment.

Sponsored by Roots of Newtown and the Pootatuck Watershed Association, Wednesday’s slideshow presentation concentrated on Newtown’s water supply, and how each resident can take part in its protection.

Bringing the audience into direct contact with the water’s vulnerable and exposed surface was resident and conservationist Pat Barkman.

“Sounds on the [frozen] lake are quite chilling,” she said. She described the view from her backyard across the frozen surface of Taunton Pond, the beauty and environmental integrity of which she hopes to preserve.

Expanding from that one visible and familiar body of water she steered the nearly 70 guests toward waterways residents either cannot see or may not often consider and answered the question: “What is an aquifer?”

“An aquifer is where we get our drinking water,” she said. “In Newtown we have got one huge watershed and that supplies us with clean and abundant drinking water.” Again offering a description for everyone to envision, Ms Barkman said, “Anything that falls from the sky — snowflakes, sleet — it all flows into the watershed and depending on where the raindrop falls, it lands in different aquifers, some toward Taunton Lake [nearer to Danbury] and some toward Deep Brook and the Pootatuck River [toward the center of Newtown].”

If the rainwater flows too fast, the aquifers are in jeopardy, she explained. She and other speakers then began using words that pose a threat not only to Newtown’s scenic waterways, but also to the environmental and aquatic integrity of the town’s water system — erosion, flash flood, storm drains, and pollution.

When rainfall flows too fast and does not absorb into the ground, problems begin, she explained. “We need all the water areas to recharge the aquifer. The water that falls has to get into the ground and water has to get back into the aquifer.” Factors such as pavement and parking lots inhibit absorption and send water sheeting into the rivers and streams. “There are roads, parking lots…the water falls and runs into the pastures too fast…we seem to be getting more and more roads…if the rain is not absorbed, it’s a flash flood.”

Aiming attention to another diminishing line of defense against pollution and a clean and hearty water supply is erosion. Areas near riverbanks that have been cleared of trees pose a problem, she explained.

“Tree roots hold banks in place so there is no erosion and they take out pollutants from our drinking water. The trees purify…” she said.

From state regulations to backyard gardening, residents and officials offered their advice about how each homeowner can take steps to help protect the environment.

Slapping the audience with an abrupt image, Sarah Middeleer spoke the words, “motor oil,” “fertilizer,” and “rainwater,” all together, explaining what residents could do to separate those elements, which all add up to a polluted water supply. She spoke about rain gardens and buffer plantings.

“The reason to talk about these subjects is that storm water and runoff are an unfortunate product of development…with development, lawns and streets will sheet with great velocity so the town has built storm drains and storm drains pollute…” The pollutants such as motor oil are picked up from the pavement by rainwater and land quickly into drinking water, she explained.

With a slide show of stark images behind her, Ms Middeleer continued. “The effects of intense flow when all the storm drains gush into one source is very eroded [river banks] and water that looks like coffee…”

She then asked, “What can we do?” Answering, she said that voluntary community effort is a start.

“You can take steps in your own yard,” she explained. Plant buffers along a stream, for example, or install a rain garden, which essentially prevents water from rushing into the street and adding to the polluted flow in the storm drains.

Buffers protect the fragile soil from fertilizers, for example, while providing habitat for wildlife. “The wildlife habitat has really been carved up,” she said.

She described rain gardens as shallow depressions filled with water-loving plants. “They redirect water flow from the storm drains,” She said. Ms Middeleer said that residents should select a location far enough from the house to prevent water from collecting in the basement — an area sloped away from the house and away from the septic.

“Incorporate it into your overall design,” she suggested. “Any size is OK and ever bit helps.” The depression should be roughly six inches deep and contain a berm around the edge. With soil loosened at the bottom, the area should be layered with compost to increase drainage. Water from gutters and drains can be piped toward the rain garden, which should pool for only a few hours.

Following Ms Middeleer was speaker Dan Holmes with Holmes Fine Gardens (www.holmesfinegardens.com).

Noting that land is often cleared of trees to make way for expansive lawns, he said, “We need to think about our lawns…everything we do has a positive or negative impact on the environment…think outside the box, please.” He noted that he had allowed the grass and brush to grow in along the area of his lawn that borders the street to prevent runoff from washing onto the pavement.

Also speaking was James Belden, president of both the Pootatuck Watershed and Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

He began his appeal, which ultimately related to the water pollutants that damage the organisms relying on clean, healthy waterways for survival, by saying,” We can volunteer to make things better for ourselves and our town because we realize it’s important…”

He also noted that while residents may be concerned about pollution in the water their families drink, residents may not necessarily think about the trout. He has spent much time and grant money restoring the banks of Deep Brook and the Pootatuck River in areas where they flow through the Fairfield Hills property and Dickinson Park. His bank restoration projects prevent erosion from destroying the habitat, accumulating silt and eliminating a breeding environment.

“Erosion stifles life and fills trout pools with silt and muck,” he said.

Through preservation efforts he hopes to prevent conditions contributing to an increased water temperature and decreased water flow — both lethal to stream life. “Quality and quantity [of water] are important. If there is not enough water in the stream, nothing is going to live in it.”

Bringing the problems down to a scale that enables concerned resident to take the situation into their own hands, literally, he said, “None of this happens without volunteers.” Mr Belden said, “Volunteers are the life-blood of volunteer organizations…it takes members to get members; ask.”

He continued, “More hands are good, educate people about what you are doing and why.”

Following Mr Belden’s discussion were Land Use Enforcement Officer George Benson, who is working to maintain Taunton Lake, and Conservation Official Rob Sibley, who addressed state regulations’ impact locally.

Mr Benson’s concerns regard plant growth and nutrient control. His focus is water quality, he said, and managing the lake.

Mr Sibley explained future state regulations that will need to be enacted locally. “There are areas people drink from that need protection,” he said.

Sarah Middeleer and Holmes Fine Gardens have raffled a rain garden. The winner has not yet been selected.