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Access a legend for the map below
Source of Map: Water Resources Inventory of CT, Part 6, Upper Housatonic River Basin, by the
U. S. Geological Survey and the CT Department of Environmental Protection, 1972.

THIS IS AN EARLY (1972) GENERALIZED MAP OF ESTIMATED AQUIFER BOUNDARIES ONLY;
COMPARE IT TO LATER DATE USGS SURFICIAL MATERIALS MAP

TWO AQUIFERS ARE SHOWN BELOW: THE NEW MILFORD CENTER
AQUIFER IS ON THE EAST BANK OF THE HOUSATONIC, AND THE
MUCH SMALLER PICKETT DISTRICT AQUIFER IS ON THE
WEST BANK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAP

HISTORIC BASE LINE DATA: 1980 HVCEO
REPORT ON NEW MILFORD CENTER AQUIFER
(Note: Text for Boardman Road, East Aspetuck and New Milford Center Center Aquifers given as a unit). The three east bank aquifers on the Housatonic River consist of a “riverbank” site, the Boardman Road Aquifer, a terrace of coarse-grained materials, and two “tributary valley” sites, the East Aspetuck and New Milford Center Aquifers, extending up the valleys of the East and West Aspetuck Rivers (East Aspetuck Aquifer) and the valley of Great Brook (New Milford Center Aquifer) .

Soil compositions of these valleys vary, but the lower reaches of the East Aspetuck Aquifer are predominantly fine-grained and of the New Milford Center Aquifer coarse-over-fine-grained.

The major uses are: Boardman Road Aquifer (0.2 square mile)-industrial plant and vacant land; East Aspetuck Aquifer (0.9 square mile)-large heavy industrial complex (brass manufacturing), several small industrial and commercial establishments, residential and vacant; New Milford Center Aquifer (0.4 square mile)-compactly developed residential, commercial, institutional and industrial.

Sources of potential or identified problems include: 4 industrial discharge sites (Boardman Road and East Aspetuck Aquifers), one each; New Milford Center Aquifer, 2 sites); Town salt stockpile, fuel bulk storage facilities, a Town landfill (adjacent to area), all on the New Milford Center Aquifer; 1 industrial waste disposal area (East Aspetuck Aquifer-metals); and the Town sewage treatment plant (New Milford Center Aquifer).

The present Town sewerage system covers the immediate central, built-up area only (limited to the New Milford Center Aquifer); extensions have been planned, however, and are likely to reach northward a short distance in the east Aspetuck Valley (East Aspetuck Aquifer), across the river to portions of the Indian Field Aquifer, and possibly northwesterly into the Boardman Road Aquifer, if a planned industrial park should materialize there.

The significance of these various aquifer sites derives not only from their depth and favorable composition, but from the major recharge potential of the Housatonic and other streams. Several of these sites have been recommended for exploratory drilling by the consulting engineers.

The substantial growth potential of New Milford and the inadequacy of its present surface water supplies (four very small reservoirs on Second Hill) lend considerable urgency to the problem of reserving sufficient sources of good quality water to meet future public needs.

For both east and west bank aquifers in the Housatonic River in central New Milford, some of the major potential problems, which may be anticipated to affect these aquifers, include: intensive commercial and industrial development (all 6 sites, but especially concentrated in the Indian Field Aquifer; Pickett District Aquifer; Boardman Road Aquifer; and East Aspetuck Aquifer); new Route 7 expressway and interchange (Boardman Road and East Aspetuck Aquifers: siltation and road salt); sewage treatment plant enlargement and/or relocation. given the large amount of aquifer land zoned for future commercial and industrial uses, controls sufficient to protect groundwater resource will not be easy to enact or enforce.

Serious consideration should be given to discouraging or entirely eliminating permission for, all potentially harmful uses on aquifer recharge areas: in particular, those types of industry and commerce which store, use or produce quantities of hazardous material: (such as chemicals, solvents, fuels, dyes, resins, paints and lacquers, metallics, etc.), and also those which produce toxic wastes of any kind. Appropriate uses to encourage, as alternatives, include corporate offices, light research and productive activities not involving the use of pollutable materials.

Other key measures should include: extension of the sewer system to serve all major uses and intensively developed areas within these aquifer areas; reduction of permitted development intensities (increase lot size establish at least 50% limits on impervious site coverage); prohibit all industrial waste disposal and harmful discharges; eliminate or severely control storage of salt, chemicals and other hazardous materials; vigorously conserve existing wetlands and flood plains; require storm water filtration and recharge.