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We’re working to keep your drinking water supply clean.
Are you?
What is the quality of our watershed lands in Woodbridge?
How can each of us support the efforts of the Town and the state to protect our drinking water and to safeguard our environment by preserving the quality of our watershed lands?
Read on for the basic facts and figures.
Ensuring the quality of our drinking water depends on the preservation of Woodbridge’s watershed. What is a watershed? It is the area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Woodbridge, itself, is essentially one large watershed, and how we maintain our land and waterways can have an enormous impact on the quality and safety of our drinking water, our local wildlife, and the value of our properties.
How are our watershed lands protected?
From the Federal Clean Water Act through our own local land use laws, there exists an intricate network of regulations that benefit us by protecting watershed lands. In Connecticut, water supply companies, such as the Regional Water Authority, must carefully map the land areas that supply their drinking water wells. Within these areas, certain land and commercial uses that may contaminate the drinking water supply are either prohibited or are closely regulated and inspected.
One of the best ways to protect watershed lands is to preserve open space. In 1998, the state legislature set a goal of preserving 21% (673,000 acres) of the state’s 3.2 million acres by 2023. We are currently at 70% of this goal!
In Woodbridge, which is a rural community and overwhelmingly forested, we are fortunate to have approximately 50% of our land currently undeveloped. Of course, most of these lands are privately owned and each year new housing tracts are created and more people join our community.
The task of our local land use commissions is to regulate this development and guide it into areas that are suitable, thereby preserving the important functions of our watershed lands. The Woodbridge Conservation Commission (WCC), Town Planning and Zoning Commission (TPZ), and Inland Wetlands Agency (IWA), work together and with the Regional Water Authority (RWA) to protect the lands that ultimately protect our water resources.
Educational Programs for the Children of Woodbridge
The Amity public school system provides many educational programs and courses on watershed issues and water conservation.
Beecher Road School students have performed water quality testing on town streams, and, for the past 8 years, 5th and 6th graders have participated in the Atlantic Salmon Project as part of a state-sponsored river restoration program. The Amity Middle School teaches science units on septic systems and Long Island Sound ecology. At Amity High School, many Woodbridge students pursue in-depth studies on acid rain, elective and Advanced Placement Environmental Science courses, and the state-funded Watershed Grant Project, which is examining the current state of the entire New Haven watershed. Links to some of these programs’ websites can be found on our new town website. Our kids may know more than you think: Ask them!
What can YOU do today and every day?
Well Maintenance and Care
Most Woodbridge residents drink water that comes from private wells located on their property. Such homeowners need to be concerned about both the quality and quantity of the water that supplies their homes. You need to learn about your well: where is it located, how old is it, how deep is it?
The local health department (Quinnipiac Valley Health District, 248-4528) should have this information in its files. Learn about how to avoid contaminating your own well with chemicals such as lawn care pesticides. Your well water should be tested periodically to make sure that it hasn’t become contaminated. For tips on maintaining your well, go to our new town website.
Water Conservation
Water conservation is important for ALL Woodbridge residents. Some simple conservation methods can save enormous amounts of water. For example, a leaky faucet can waste up to 170 gallons of water every day. The town, QVHD, and the RWA all have many more suggestions for conserving water on their web sites.
Outdoor Watering
Thousands, perhaps millions, of gallons of water are wasted in Woodbridge every summer because of improper watering of lawns and gardens. Established lawns and plantings need only one inch of water per week, so pre-set watering systems will most likely be over-watering. Too much water is harmful for most plants, including turf grass, as it leads to fungal disease. If you must water your lawn, do so only in the early morning: Water applied in the heat of the day will be lost to evaporation, and water applied at dusk will stay on the leaf surfaces overnight and encourage fungus. Also, healthy garden bed soil that is high in organic matter with a thin layer (1-2 inches only) of organic mulch will enable the soil to retain moisture and will drastically decrease the need for watering. More tips and information on watering, water conservation, and drought-tolerant plants are available at our new town website and at www.dep.state.ct.us/wst/compost/grass.htm.
Lawn Chemicals and Insecticides
A recent study of well water in Woodbridge found that 11% of the wells tested were contaminated by lawn chemicals. Last summer, a new law was passed in Connecticut to ban the use of lawn care chemicals at day care centers and elementary schools. There’s a good reason for this! Lawn care chemicals have been linked to many cancers and other diseases. For more information on the toxic effects of pesticides, go to our new town website. You can have a beautiful, healthy lawn and garden without using any toxic products. The organic industry is thriving, and your lawn care professional will use organic products if you request them.
If you need a lawn care professional who specializes in organic methods, call or link to NOFA via our new town website.
Lyme Disease
Many individuals are concerned about Lyme disease and have their property sprayed for ticks. The use of pesticides to guard against ticks is very ineffective, and the pesticides may end up in your drinking water. There are other ways to effectively avoid ticks, and these are detailed on the new town website.
Septic Tanks
If your house is served by a septic system, you need to take care of it as you would yourself and your pets—have it inspected on a regular basis by a professional. There is a short list of tips that will help you maintain your system for many years and help protect the Woodbridge environment and its watershed. For example, items like paint thinners, solvents, and unused medicines should never be sent down your drain into your septic tank. An excellent free brochure for homeowners to help with septic system care and maintenance is available from the non-profit Conservation Districts of Connecticut, which has a link from our new town website.
Underground Oil Tanks
Some older homes still have underground oil tanks. If your home has an underground tank and it leaks, it can contaminate your and your neighbors’ water supply and be very costly to clean up. Many homeowners with underground tanks have them removed, even if they are not leaking, to avoid liability and increased costs later on. Detailed information and links may be found on the new town website.
Solid Waste Disposal
Woodbridge has a Solid Waste Regulation for the collection, removal, and disposal of household trash for the protection of public health and our watershed. Solid waste disposal eliminates the need for landfills, which have been shown to contaminate ground water. The Woodbridge Transfer Station is a permit-required facility open to all Woodbridge residents for household waste disposal and recycling. For disposal of appliances and large solid waste, call the town Public Works Department at 389-3492.
Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
HazWaste Central is open to collect and dispose of household hazardous waste for the residents of Woodbridge free of charge. The facility is located at 90 Sargent Drive, New Haven. Bring your old oil-based paints, old garden products, swimming pool chemicals, antifreeze, batteries, and waste oil to HazWaste Central for disposal. For more information, link to them from our new town website.
On the Road
Did you know that every year water runoff from roadways and parking lots carries thousands of tons of toxic metals, asbestos, oils, and grease from our cars and trucks? Much of this pollution finds its way into our wetlands, streams, and reservoirs. So, when you see that leaky spot in your driveway, please get your car fixed.
Storm Drains
Storm drains (catch basins) carry rain and snowmelt from our parking lots and roadways to our streams and rivers without benefit of any water quality purification at all. Toxic materials like motor oil, paint, pesticides, and antifreeze poison our drinking water supplies, damage our parks, and kill fish and wildlife. So please never dispose of unwanted material in storm drains, and take advantage of the Town’s recycling programs and Hazardous Waste Collection Days.
This information has been mailed to all Woodbridge residents to:
---provide information about what the town and government are doing to protect our watershed,
---provide education about how YOU can help preserve and protect our water resources, and
---announce a new web-based resource for the town.
We encourage you to share this information with other family members, and discuss how YOU and your family can better protect your drinking water. |