AWPPCE
Bill Bardin
Homework 7.1
Since I live in Shelton, I am looking at the Housatonic River watershed in Connecticut.
The Housatonic river watershed covers an area of approximately 112,171 acres in the
western portion of Connecticut. The watershed extends north into Massachusetts and
west into New York State. The river has four impairments (dams) to natural flow along
its path through Connecticut. Each of these impairments provides a point where sediment
and suspended particles can slow and settle to the bottom of the channel. The watershed
in Connecticut consists of 60% forests, 24% urban areas, 8% agricultural areas, and 7%
water carrying channels.
The primary concern along the length of the river is the introduction of bacteria form
human and animal sources. In a number of areas in the watershed, because of their age
and a lack of regulations at the time, homes have older septic systems that are allowing
ecoli to be introduced into the waterway. Additionally, acidic runoff from the decaying
material in the forestlands contributes to issues in the river system. The acidic nature of
rain in Connecticut, pH 4.5 – 5.0 vs. “normal” rainwater at pH 5.5 also contributes to the
slightly acidic nature of the water. The river is also taxed with handling the normal runoff
from urban areas, like oil and grease from parking lots and trace chemicals and
pharmaceuticals from waste treatment facilities along the river. Agricultural areas
contribute nitrates and phosphates from fertilizers and pesticides, which are a byproduct
of normal operations and, since they are typically used in excess, a component of any
runoff.
http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/water/tmdl/statewidebacteria/housatonicriver6000.pdf