Watershed Projects :: Protecting Water Quality
Make a Sound Choice for Clean Water
Many of our daily activities contribute to water pollution. When rain water (or snow melt) washes over roads, parking lots, lawns, and sidewalks, it picks up oil, trash, soil, excess fertilizer and pet waste, and carries those pollutants directly to our waterways. Most storm drain systems are not designed to remove pollutants - they simply convey the polluted water into our rivers and lakes, and eventually into Long Island Sound.
With generous support from the CT DEEP Long Island Sound License Plate Program and the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, we have produced educational exhibits with large maps, kid-friendly-hands-on watershed models, sampling gear, fun give-a-ways, and outreach materials including fact sheets about preventing polluted runoff and septic system maintenance. These materials focus on water quality and the simple steps you can take to prevent pollution from reaching our rivers and Long Island Sound. Copies of all materials are also available from the TLGV office. We have also developed exhibits and displays on water quality that are available for loan. You can make a difference by taking the "Sound Choice" pledge for cleaner, healthier waterways!
How Can I Protect the Water Quality of My Favorite Lake?
The Amos Lake Public Awareness Project provides some great examples of education and outreach materials that can be used to start a water quality protection/improvement campaign on your lake or pond.
Amos Lake is a 113-acre Trophy Trout/Bass Management Lake in Preston, CT. The 920-acre watershed surrounding the lake includes agricultural businesses, small-scale businesses, medium-density houses and churches. Past studies have indicated that the lake is subject to excess nutrient loads, particularly phosphorus, which can lead to degraded water quality.
The Amos Lake Association developed a Public Awareness Project designed to inform residents that the impacts of some lakeside activities such as over-fertilizing lawns, failing to maintain septic systems, and failing to pick up after pets can contribute to water quality problems. The project was developed in partnership with the Eastern CT Conservation District and was funded in part by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection through a US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grant in conjunction with the CT Federation of Lakes.
The Amos Lake Association distributed packets to all residents and businesses in the watershed surrounding the lake. Each packet included the following brochures:
A new brochure, Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers, is also being distributed through local bait shops.
The information contained in these packets can be adapted (with proper credit, of course) for your own watershed’s public awareness campaign to protect water quality.
