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