Pickett District Aquifer in New Milford, CT

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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 PICKETT DISTRICT AQUIFER
Note: The texts for the Kent Road Aquifer, Indian Field Aquifer and Pickett District Aquifer are included in a joint analysis. The Kent Road, Indian Field and Pickett District Aquifers on the west bank share a compositional structure of coarse-grained materials overlain by fine-grained material and may be hydraulically inter-related. Aquifer areas are for Kent Road, Indian Field and Pickett District respectively are 0.4, 0.9, and 0.3 square miles.

The general land use pattern through the area of all three sites is strongly dominated by Route 7, the frontage of which is intensively developed in mixed commercial uses south of the Route 202 intersection, and in mixed commercial and residential at lighter density northward along Kent Road. Other major uses include the Kimberly Clark industrial complex, two public schools, some small industries, several residential apartment complexes, scattered residential subdivisions, a gravel mine, and a large farm (a protected reservation).

Predominant zoning ½ mile north and 3/4 mile south of the Route 7 traffic circle is commercial (along Route 7), and industrial in the Kimberly Clark area (Pickett District Aquifer). Residential and commercial zones alternate along Kent Road, through the aquifer area, as they do further south along Route 7. No sewers have yet been provided to serve these areas.

Among particular problem areas are: a major commercial landfill (adjacent to the Indian Field Aquifer); 3 industrial waste disposal sites (Kent Road Aquifer-1, 2 sites-solvents, and other wastes; Indian Field Aquifer, 1 site-other wastes); 1 sewage treatment plant and industrial discharge site (Pickett District Aquifer); State of Connecticut road salt stockpile (Indian Field Aquifer, and many commercial and industrial establishments using on-site sewage disposal systems. Two cases of contaminated wells, both in bedrock immediately adjacent to the Indian Field Aquifer, have been reported.

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.