The Pootatuck Watershed Association (PWA), a private environmental protection group, is seeking new members to participate in its programs intended to preserve local environmental quality.

The group wants to recruit volunteers to aid in an ongoing water quality sampling program, which it jointly conducts with several other organizations.

PWA also is seeking people to participate in its new “citizen watchdog” program, in which volunteers are encouraged to report suspicious or troubling events such as “fish kills” or evidence of contamination in a watercourse, according to a PWA statement.

That statement was developed by PWA President Sarah Middeleer and Vice President Joe Hovious.

Also, students who want to fulfill community service requirements or want to pursue independent study projects may contact Ms Middeleer at viridis@charter.net or at 203-426-3136 for more information. Additional information about PWA is available at pootatuckwatershed.org.

According to the PWA statement, “At various stations around town, stream water is tested twice a year for numerous conditions and contaminants, including temperature, conductivity, turbidity, phosphorus, ammonia, nitrate and E. coli. Several PWA water quality sampling stations monitor Deep Brook, an important tributary of the Pootatuck River. Deep Brook and a portion of the Pootatuck River have been designated by [the state] as a Class-1 Wild Trout Management Area, one of only nine in Connecticut.”

Concerning the importance of its “citizen watchdog” program, the PWA states: “Wild trout can only survive in very pure, cold water. In July of 2013, many trout were killed in Deep Brook downstream of the discharge of Fairfield Hills stormwater drains. Although discharge of a toxic substance was suspected, the state was unable to determine the exact cause of the fish kill. Citizens using the town property along Deep Brook recreationally were most helpful in reporting the incident.”

In 2014, PWA received a grant to help compile and analyze more than eight years’ of water sampling data collected locally. Grant money was used to create versatile computer programming that produces charts and graphs to illustrate the results of water sampling.

“The hope is that municipal, regional, and private entities will be able to keep track of what’s happening to the watercourses throughout the region…This new software will enable PWA and its partners, as well as the Newtown Land Use Agency, to monitor ongoing and future risks to water quality in our town,” according to PWA.

Use of the software will aid PWA and the town Land Use Agency investigate the sources of local water contamination and seek to resolve such problems, according to the PWA statement. Advanced Environmental Interface Inc of Middlefield created the software.