To the Editor:

Thank you for publishing an article last week on the Pootatuck Watershed Association and our work on water quality sampling throughout town. The article described new software that was developed for our use, to help us analyze the data we collect and to help identify particular problems in local watercourses. We wish to point out that the development of this computer program was made possible by a grant provided by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) through a United States Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grant, in conjunction with the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut Small Grant Program. Grants such as these can be of immense value to organizations like ours, and the parameters of this grant allow PWA to share the software with other like-minded organizations to help people everywhere understand the threats to their local water and to then take measures to prevent further damage.

As the article stated, we seek new volunteers for our sampling project, but we also welcome new members of the association. We have many projects ongoing and in the “hopper,” and new members can be as active as they wish. But support from the community is most welcome in any form.

Sincerely,

Sarah W. Middeleer, President

Joe Hovious, Vice President

Pootatuck Watershed Association

PO Box 3303 Newtown                    March 10. 2015