May 22 At Roxbury Town Hall

ROXBURY — On Sunday, May 22, at 2 pm, Minor Memorial Library and Roxbury Conservation Commission will sponsor a program on protecting the Shepaug River.

The program will be at Roxbury Town Hall, 29 North Street. The building is handicapped accessible.

The program comes on the heels of Waterbury’s compliance with a 2008 court ruling ordering the city to restore river flow after 80 years of diverting water at the Shepaug Dam. Dan Sherr of Washington Environmental Council will speak about the litigation and settlement of the suit by Shepaug River Association, the Town of Roxbury and other plaintiffs against Waterbury.

After a review of the recent Waterbury litigation, the program will focus on current monitoring of the health of the river, plans to expand the monitoring activities to include tributaries of the Shepaug and a consideration of potential threats to the river system.

Margaret Miner of the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut will discuss baseline studies and ongoing assessment. Greg Bollard of Friends of the Lake will review the health of Lake Lillinonah. Ann Berman will discuss Freedom Lawn. Meghan Ruta of the Housatonic Valley Association will give an overview of the water quality monitoring program. Seth Lerman of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will talk about the Streamwalk Program and Gary Steinman will present Shepaug watershed program plans.

The program will conclude with a panel discussion led by Trudy Swenson and Hugh Rawson of the Roxbury Conservation Commission.

The program is part of the popular “A Town Wants to Know” series and is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Contact Hugh Rawson, 860-354-3174, for additional information.