Groton Open Space Association

New State Measures Would Protect GU Water System

GROTON — The recently ended session of the General Assembly has enacted two pieces of legislation with potential to protect the quality of water in the reservoir system of Groton Utilities, a matter of concern for the Groton Open Space Association.

A May 11 article in THE DAY by Judy Benson said legislation will provide $100,000 for a study of Groton Utilities watershed land to ensure that it remains protected. The study could become a model for watershed lands in the rest of the state, said state Rep. Edward Moukawsher, Democrat of Groton.

The article also said the legislature will require that state Department of Public Health review development proposals in watersheds to ensure that a project would not harm drinking water.

Concerns about the impact of development led the Groton Open Space Association to intervene in the application for the Great Brook development, which was originally presented in the Spring of 2003 as a 103-house project near Route 184. Under an agreement reached with GOSA in April 2005, the number of houses was set at a sharply reduced 51, and the developer took steps to protect the watershed through easements; restrictions on household chemicals; and sound environmental stewardship.

The project had concerned GOSA because Great Brook, after which the development is named, is the main connector of the northern and southern sections of the reservoir system.

The May 11 DAY article quotes State Rep. Richard Roy, Democrat of Milford, co-chairman of the Environment Committee, as saying that another significant accomplishment is a measure intended to increase punishment for people who encroach on forests and other undeveloped land owned by the state and land trusts.

According to the article, Mr. Roy said that the state and land trusts have found trees illegally cut down and fences moved by adjoining property owners who want to treat conservation land as their own.

“A recent example occurred in April at Bluff Point Coastal Reserve, when state conservation officers found that state property had been illegally cleared of trees and other vegetation. The new law would enable the hiring of about three new conservation officers to patrol state lands. Currently the state has about 55 conservation officers,” the article said.

“Under the new law, violators can be fined $5,000 or up to five times the cost of restoration of the damaged site, said Tom Morrissey, chief of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Under the current law, the highest fine possible was $500,” the article said.