The town is seeking approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) for a streambank stabilization project intended to improve five sections of streambank alongside Pond Brook, which have failing slopes.

The IWC is expected to review the application when it meets on February 24.

The five streambank areas to be improved lie on the south side of Pond Brook Road. The westernmost streambank section to be improved lies about 860 feet east of the intersection of Pond Brook Road and Obtuse Road.

The five streambank sections lie alongside a 1,010-foot section of Pond Brook. The five sections of varying sizes total 433 linear feet of streambank, according to plans for the project. The five sections are on the stream's northern bank, lying in an area where the stream flows west-to-east.

Pond Brook is the outlet for Taunton Lake, carrying water from there to the Lake Lillinonah section of the Housatonic River, near the state boat launch at 160 Hanover Road.

Plans call for using large boulders and riprap to reinforce sections of streambank that have eroded across time. Riprap typically is broken stone that is thrown together irregularly to stabilize a slope.

The placement of rocks on the streambank will armor the slope to prevent scour and erosion.

In the future, the town plans to reconstruct the section of Pond Brook Road where the streambank improvement work would occur.

The streambank project will create an area where guardrailing can be installed to serve as a safety barrier between the road and the stream.

In the overall project, 7,246 square feet of streambank would be stabilized using 632 cubic feet of stone. The three-foot to five-foot diameter boulders to be would be placed at the base of the streambank, with the riprap placed higher on the slopes.

The town Department of Public Works expects it would take 10 to 15 days to do the stabilization work.

The 14-acre site at 67 Pond Brook Road where the work would occur is owned by Sandra K. and Dr Arthur C. Degraff, Jr, trustees.