Past snow-flattened field grass and across a footpath is a swift-moving stream skirting Fairfield Hills. Walking toward an area of slower water and sediment build-up, Pootatuck Watershed Association member Joe Hovious pointed out a nearby spot where the Pootatuck River and Deep Brook meet - a secluded burbling confluence. But before the waterways merge is a stretch of river he hopes to improve.

Stepping off a hiking path, Mr Hovious glanced across open ground. "The sun comes in the afternoon and beats on this part of the river. It has widened."

Without trees to shade and cool the water or roots to hold soil in place, erosion and build-up has altered the stream. The plan, he said, is to take trees, with root balls attached, and set with their trunks away from the bank and roots in the river to "provide protection from erosion."

The town has identified some "reachable" dead trees and has agreed to provide the trees as a form of "waste recycling," Mr Hovious said. The area will also be planted with living shrubs and trees for shade. With another glance at the river, he said, "This part of the Pootatuck is silty; it's not called Sandy Hook for nothing."

Noting the "soft ground and erosion," he said the trees will help keep the stream narrow. "Water will move faster," he said. The water will keep sediment moving and "hidey-holes for wildlife" will reemerge from the riverbed and banks. Many other stretches of river are firm bedrock, which is a healthy river bottom, Mr Hovious said, with water slipping over and between stones. Work will begin in the late summer, "when the flow is down," he said.

Among past efforts to preserve Deep Brook and the Pootatuck is a 2015 financial contribution. The Pootatuck Watershed Association received a "generous" and "anonymous" grant for stream and trout habitat improvements, and has done various projects to preserve the stream. Both the town and volunteers have contributed to the work.

Since 2004/05, Mr Hovious said volunteers and civic groups have been planting trees along the water to create shade, and some restoration and remediation work in the streams took place after the heating oil spill at Reed Intermediate School in 2004.

Past work has also included a host of people, "mom, pop, kids," surveying Deep Brook's water from the top of Wasserman Way where it flows down toward Berkshire Road and meets the Pootatuck running toward and through Sandy Hook Center. The waters converge at a small spot below the Park and Bark Dog Park, across a field, and just below Oakview Drive, at the point of focus for Mr Hovious's current project. Work will tale place along a 100- to 150-foot stretch of bank.

Walking along the water, Mr Hovious paused to inspect past years' work where young trees had been planted near the river, and tree trunks had been set along its edges.

"Water comes up, mud is held on the bank and drops behind a barrier and builds a bank - exactly why we put them in," Mr Hovious said. The bank is "natural looking, and it's holding."

He hopes for more "stream narrowing" work in the future, but will need more funding, he said.

Past and ongoing work along Deep Brook and the Pootatuck River is like "making rock soup, a carrot here, a potato there," and through the availability of funds and grants, work takes place "in bits and pieces done by volunteers." Public Works, Land Use, Parks and Recreation staff, and the first selectmen are among those in town also concerned about spills and fish kills, he said. The waterways have benefited from "good, cooperative efforts. A lot of citizens put their support behind it."

Past Efforts

According to a Facebook post, the Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited in May of last year sought volunteers to help remove cages protecting prior tree plantings along Deep Brook. The stream "is a local gem and a long-term conservation focus" for the group. The post states, "Our trees have grown and thrived and now need their cages removed…"

According to newtownconservation.org, The Deep Brook Preserve provides a "very special and precious location in the heart of Newtown. The original 21.66-Acre Preserve was formerly a part of the State of Connecticut Fairfield Hills complex and was conveyed to the Town of Newtown as part of the Fairfield Hills property transfer in 2004.

The parcel was conveyed with the stipulation that it was to be used for open space and recreational purposes; should the town not use the property for these purposes, not retain ownership, or lease any of the parcel, ownership reverts to the State of Connecticut.

An adjacent parcel is protected as part of the Preserve, which is the location of the now closed and demolished Fairfield Hills wastewater treatment plant. This 4.28-acre parcel provides some additional protection to the brook."

Additionally, the site states, "One special attribute of the Preserve is that the portion of Deep Brook flowing through the Preserve along with a portion of the Pootatuck River is classified by the State as a Class 1 Wild Trout Management Area. There are only 9 such areas in Connecticut that contain sufficient numbers of wild trout and are able to sustain naturally. Trout, particularly the brook trout, are a classic environmental indicator of excellent water quality and a healthy watershed. The stream is managed without stocking on a catch and release basis. The Preserve provides some limited stream protection by maintaining a narrow buffer along the stream."

Visit pootatuckwatershed.org to learn more about the organization and volunteer opportunities. The PWA's mission, as stated on the site is, "Protect and preserve the Pootatuck River, its drainage basin and its underlying aquifer (collectively, the "watershed"), as a recreational resource and as a source of safe, clean drinking water for the benefit of the people of Newtown, Connecticut, now and for generations to come; promote the reasonable and prudent use and consumption of water from the Watershed to assure its availability for future generations; protect, preserve and enhance the environmental health of land in the Watershed so as to safeguard the water supply and provide suitable habitat for wild flora, fauna and aquatic life," among other efforts.

Contact members by phone or e-mail at 203-917-0335 or info@pootatuckwatershed.org.