Pequabuck comeback ‘remarkable'

By JACKIE MAJERUS

The Bristol Press

BRISTOL -- The Pequabuck River isn't the polluted waterway it used to be.

"It was probably one of the worst-polluted rivers in the state," said Ken Shooshan-Stoller, a regional planner with the Central Connecticut Region-al Planning Agency and an organizer of river-oriented workshops. "Things are turning around."

Upgrades at area sewage-treatment plants have helped greatly, according to Shooshan-Stoller.

But he said many people still think of the Pequabuck -- now home to trout and other fish -- is badly polluted. "It's got an image problem," said Shooshan-Stoller.

Shooshan-Stoller and others met Saturday at the Indian Rock Nature Preserve to talk about environmental restoration of the Pequabuck.

The meeting was part of a series of workshops by the Pequabuck River Organization, an umbrella group of conservation, government and business organizations interested in helping protect the river.

Carl Swanson, president of the Pequabuck River Watershed Association -- one of the member groups -- said the group's first priority is to make more individuals and groups aware of the river as a resource for the community.

"It's hard to do anything unless you get the people behind you," Swanson said. People provide labor, money and general support for river restoration, he said.

Shooshan-Stoller said that Fred Banach of the state Department of Environmental Protection attended Saturday and talked about the river's polluted history. "He related some anecdotes going back to the ‘70s," Shooshan-Stoller said.

Shooshan-Stoller said the DEP expert talked about the problems of tracking down pollution that doesn't have a definite source.

"It could be runoff from a lawn or other surface, maybe a parking lot," Shooshan-Stoller said. "Those kinds of things are difficult to ascertain."

The DEP is doing its best to fight pollution in the state's rivers, Shooshan-Stoller, but he said "they can't do it alone."

The state agency is asking interested groups to help care for the rivers, Shooshan-Stoller said. Groups like Swanson's are vital to the river-related work being done by the DEP, he said.

There is state money available, he added, for groups willing to take an active role in improving the rivers.

But Swanson said he was disappointed in the low turnout at Saturday's workshop. He said there were less than 10 people there.

"The attendance was pretty low," Shooshan-Stoller agreed. "It might have been the threat of the weather."

The Pequabuck, said Swanson, "has made a remarkable comeback."

The Pequabuck River is a priority for the DEP, according to Swanson, whose group works closely with the state agency.

"It's not forgotten at all," Swanson said.

But, said Swanson, unless it's an emergency, it generally takes the state two weeks to respond to a request from him that someone come to check out a potential problem with the river.

"It comes down to resources," said Swanson.

The workshops continue today at 4 p.m. at Memorial Boulevard School, Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Bristol Boys and Girls Club and March 18 at 4 p.m. at Manross Library. They are open to the public.

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