Pootatuck Aquifer Gets Another

Layer Of Environmental Protection

By Andrew Gorosko

To better protect the quality of the Pootatuck Aquifer — the underground source of two local public drinking water supplies — another layer of environmental regulation will be added as the state’s aquifer protection program is implemented locally.

In 1999, the town approved a set of municipal aquifer protection zoning regulations, which are intended to prevent the contamination of the aquifer and ensure a supply of safe drinking water. The town’s Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members also serve as the Newtown Aquifer Protection Agency for both local and new state aquifer regulations.

The Pootatuck Aquifer is the source for the United Water system, which supplies water to central Newtown, Sandy Hook Center, Mt Pleasant Road, and South Main Street. The aquifer also is the source for the town-owned water system that supplies the Fairfield Hills area and Garner Correctional Institution.

The Pootatuck Aquifer, which is a federally designated sole source aquifer, is susceptible to contamination because of its relatively high permeability and its shallow water table, which is recharged mainly from precipitation that percolates from the land surfaces lying within the aquifer’s watershed, according to the town.

The town’s aquifer regulations prohibit land uses which can contaminate groundwater. The rules also regulate certain other land uses that may have the potential to contaminate groundwater.

Rob Sibley, town deputy director of planning and land use, explained that the state’s aquifer protection program focuses its efforts on the areas relatively close to the wellheads of public water supplies, while the town’s aquifer protection program covers much broader terrain, extending outward from the wellheads in the form of the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD).

Mr Sibley said that the state’s aquifer protection area in Newtown covers roughly one-fifth of the geographic area of the town’s APD. The state used multiple small test wells to calculate its aquifer boundary lines, he said.

Geographic areas protected by the state’s aquifer rules will be depicted on the town’s zoning map for reference in determining whether a given property is subject to regulation under the state’s aquifer rules.

Mr Sibley estimates that about 24 local properties lying near the wellheads for the two local public water supplies would be subject to regulation under the state’s aquifer protection rules. The owners of properties subject to regulation will be required to register.

Mr Sibley noted that that the town and United Water contributed funds toward the cost of the US Geological Survey’s recent local water resources mapping project. That mapping and computer modeling project describes the hydrological interaction between the Pootatuck River and the subterranean Pootatuck Aquifer.

Mr Sibley said he expects the town to soon conduct public hearings on the state’s aquifer protection program, providing the public with an opportunity to comment on the layer of state regulations that will augment the existing municipal aquifer protection rules.

Having had municipal aquifer protection regulations in place for the past 12 years has provided the town with experience in addressing water quality protection issues, he said.

Development Restrictions

The state’s aquifer protection program would affect 122 active wellfields in the state. Currently, there are 79 municipalities in the state with aquifer protection areas.

The state’s rules focus on stratified drift aquifers, also known as sand-and-gravel aquifers, which serve more than 1,000 people, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

“The [state] regulations restrict development of certain new land use activities which use, store, handle, or dispose of hazardous materials, and [also] require existing regulated land uses to register and follow best management practices,” according to DEP.

Robert Hust is the assistant director of the planning and standards division at the bureau of water protection and land reuse at the DEP.

The state’s aquifer protection program aims to protect large wells from contamination through a comprehensive and coordinated system of land use rules at both the state and local levels, Mr Hust said in a statement.

Besides proposed new activities, the state aquifer regulations will provide the Newtown Aquifer Protection Agency with the authority to regulate certain existing activities in state-regulated aquifer protection areas, he said.

Mr Hust noted that while Newtown’s municipal aquifer regulations apply only to proposed activities, the state’s aquifer rules also regulate some existing activities. However, the state’s aquifer regulations apply to a smaller land area than do Newtown’s aquifer regulations, he added.