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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

DISCUSSION IN 1969 TOWN PLAN
According to the 1969 Bethel Plan of Development “The Water Department of Bethel formerly operated two gravel packed wells located on Grassy Plain Street near Cherry Lane. These wells possessed very high capacity - one million gallons per day safe yield each - and were capable of delivering sufficient quantity of water to supply the town needs until the mid-1980's.

However, a serious water quality problem existed due to hardness derived from dissolution of the marble bedrock and associated glacial till and due to chemical contamination of the subsurface water near the wells. This quality problem reached such critical dimensions that the wells had to be discontinued for town supply.

If the source of the chemical contaminants is removed and the aquifer is allowed to purge itself, these wells could be utilized again in the future as town water supply wells, provided the hardness could be handled by removal or dilution from other sources. The engineering studies recommended in this report should investigate these former town wells in detail."

HISTORIC BASE LINE DATA: 1980 HVCEO
REPORT ON SYMPAUG BROOK AQUIFER
The highly urbanized valley of Sympaug Brook,and this potentially valuable aquifer of 2.2 square miles lies in the western section of Bethel and southeastern Danbury.

Although the Sympaug Brook is a northerly flowing tributary of the Still River, there are shallow hydrogeologic connections of the aquifer southerly to the Upper Saugatuck Aquifer and easterly to the East Swamp Aquifer. Coarse-grained sediments predominate at the southern end to about one mile north of Sympaug Pond, and continue north with an overlay of fine sediment.

Extensive wetlands lie both north and south of the village area of Bethel, diminishing the intensity of urban land use. industrial land use, mostly light manufacturing, research, and warehousing, extends in scattered fashion from just south of the center of Bethel northerly to the Still River (Grassy Plain, Henry and Wooster Streets in Bethel, Shelter Rock area in Danbury).

Intensive commercial and residential blocks of development intervene. Public sewers have been extended throughout most of the developed area.

The prevalent zoning, covering virtually all of the direct recharge area, except commercial and residential neighborhoods in Bethel, and the southern extremity of the aquifer near Sympaug Pond, is industrial.

The industrial and developed character of the land over the aquifer is reflected in several potential problem sources - a major Town refuse disposal landfill, just north of Sympaug Pond (nearly completed, scheduled to be closed in early 1979); four industrial waste disposal sites (three in the west end of village area, 1 on Wooster Street - disposing of metals, solvents and other materials); three industrial discharges occurring; the Town salt stockpile; the Town sewage treatment plant; and a large oil storage depot in Bethel center.

Two quite productive Town water supply wells on Grassy Plain St. (500 and 750 gallons per minute) have been closed due to contamination, although some private wells are unaffected.

Major future control measures should include strict prohibition of all industrial discharges, stringent controls on storage of fuels and chemicals, intensity controls on major uses, and preservation of wetlands and steep slopes on all sites.

EXCERPT FROM 1997
BETHEL, CT TOWN PLAN
The Grassy Plain Wells, tapping the Sympaug Brook Aquifer, have been out of use since 1964 due to chemical contamination. The Parloa Well Field, also in the Sympaug Brook Aquifer, is no longer used due to the construction of sewers nearby, raising the risk of contamination, although these wells are not now contaminated.

EXCERPT FROM THE 2006
BETHEL WATER SUPPLY PLAN
According to the 2006 Plan “There are two inactive well fields in the Bethel Water Department system, the Parloa and Grassy Plains well. These were installed as temporary wells during the mid -1960's drought. The pumps for the Parloa wells were removed and the wells abandoned in 1968.

The pumps for the Grassy Plain wells were kept intact as an emergency backup system and are still in place. However, due to quality concerns related to the industrial history of the Grassy Plain site, the Bethel Water Department has ruled out the possibility of utilizing these wells and plans to abandon them.”