The Pootatuck Watershed Association (PWA), a private nonprofit environmental protection group, is planning a project to improve water quality and restore wild trout habitat in local trout streams, including the Pootatuck River and its tributary Deep Brook.info@pootatuckwatershed.org.

PWA President Sarah Middeleer said this week that PWA has received a $40,000 grant from a private foundation to restore local wild trout habitat. The foundation that made the donation wishes to remain anonymous, Ms Middeleer said.

"The PWA has mobilized with other local groups to plan its course of action," she said.

The association is working with volunteer members of Trout Unlimited's Candlewood Valley Chapter, and others, in planning the habitat improvement project, she said. The nonprofit Trout Unlimited works to protect coldwater fisheries.

Also, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has provided advice on the project, she said.

The improvement work will center on DEEP's designated Wild Trout Management Area, comprised by portions of the Pootatuck River and Deep Brook, according to Ms Middeleer. The are several such management areas in the state intended to keep wild trout reproducing.

The wild trout population in Deep Brook has been particularly hard hit in the last 12 years, due to two heating oil spills at Fairfield Hills and at least one toxic release there, Ms Middeleer said.

That toxic release caused in a fish kill in lower Deep Brook. That brook section is downstream of the points where the stormwater and the groundwater discharged from Fairfield Hills enters Deep Brook. The exact cause of that fish kill was never determined, according to PWA.

After PWA members determine the specific trout habitat problems that need to be resolved, work plans would be formulated.

Trout habitat improvements may include creating streambank revetments and also making buffer plantings along streambanks. Also, certain physical improvements may be made to trout refuge areas and to spawning beds.

Before improvements occur, the PWA would analyze scientific data collected on the area during the past decade to identify specific trout habitat problems.

Ms Middeleer said the PWA has been working with First Selectman Pat Llodra and various town departments since last summer on measures to improve drainage flow from Fairfield Hills and to prevent any further damage to Deep Brook.

Ms Middeleer said that many volunteers would be needed to perform the trout habitat improvement project. She said that people interested in volunteering may reach the PWA via e-mail at