Pequabuck River Workshops

Proceedings in Brief

Economic Opportunity March 4, 1999 Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Environmental Restoration March 6, 1999 Bristol Regional Environmental Center
Educational Opportunity March 9, 1999 Memorial Boulevard School
Recreational Resource March 11, 1999 Bristol Boys & Girls Club
Historic Preservation March 18, 1999 Manross Memorial Library
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The Pequabuck River as Economic Opportunity


Workshop at The Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce
March 4, 1999

Attendees:

General discussion initially centered on recognition of the Pequabuck River as an asset to the region from an economic standpoint. Participants related examples of other cities and towns that have capitalized on the underutilized waterways in their municipalities by enhancing use and creating opportunity. Several topics focusing on the river and implications for local and regional economies were discussed including:
  1. The Pequabuck River as a focal point of development and/or civic life

  2. Showcase the river by expanding and improving public access, restoration of natural conditions, vista management and removal of litter.

  3. Increase sponsorship of river-related civic activities

  4. Provision of assistance for riverside businesses and landowners - PRO should be a one-stop resource for:
  5. The river and the watershed should be examined for possibilities for regional tourism opportunities that use the river as a focus:

  6. Proper river stewardship should be a component of the public school curriculum

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The Pequabuck River - Environmental Restoration


Workshop at The Bristol Regional Environmental Center
March 6, 1999 - Click here for the Bristol Press article about this meeting -

Attendees:

With a history largely defined by the development spurred by the Industrial Revolution, a great deal of contaminants and their accompanying degrading effects were already very well-established by the time ecological awareness became a state institution (DEP) in the early 1970s.

Participants at this workshop, as well as attendees at the other workshop, retold a litany of Pequabuck River horror stories describing the severity of the cumulative pollution of the river. At times, the water in the river was every color of the rainbow, it was murky, devoid of fish, and offensive odors were common.

Fred Banach related that as treatment procedures improved for industrial discharge, and as some industries closed, some improvements were noticeable. The late 1970s saw moves to improve wastewater treatment at municipal facilities as well. As the three sewage treatment plants in the watershed upgraded their processing, dramatic reductions of certain pollutants were achieved.

Mr. Banach explained that the presence of nonpoint source pollution derived from stormwater runoff halted the progress of improvements in the health of the river. While the above-mentioned improvements have meant a return of fish populations, storm event runoff poses a number of threatening scenarios to fish, such as:

Education was stressed as the number one deterrent to nonpoint source pollution.

How to communicate educational programming was discussed. Suggestions included:

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The Pequabuck River as Educational Opportunity


Workshop at The Memorial Boulevard School
March 9, 1999

Attendees:

Initially envisioned as a workshop for primarily public school teachers, the workshop became a demonstration of the EnviroScape, a hands-on, teaching tool that graphically presents the dynamics of water in the natural and the built environment.

The EnviroScape is a three-dimensional, scaled-down model of a watershed with typical elements of urban, suburban and rural uses. This tool illustrates the total path of nonpoint source pollution from beginning to end. It shows how pollutants can find their way to watercourses through the assistance of gravity and impervious surfaces that accelerate and facilitate the conveyance of stormwater to streams, rivers and ponds.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has extensive curriculum-based teaching programs available for schools and other groups to use to instruct classes on watershed dynamics, and control and prevention of nonpoint source pollution. Education is viewed by the organizing coalition as integral to restoration and full utilization of a river's potential service to the community.

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The Pequabuck River as Recreational Resource


Workshop at The Bristol Boys & Girls Club
March 11, 1999

Attendees:

Introduction – The fourth, in a series of five Pequabuck River watershed workshops, focused on defining the challenges and opportunities presented in evaluating current and establishing future recreational utilization of the River.

Workshop participants identified a number of major-issue categories representing impediments to recreational utilization such as:

Within these categories, the particular or site-specific problems were enumerated, possible solutions were explored, and avenues of implementation were discussed. Additionally, existing recreational resources and potential new sites were inventoried. Improvements to existing resources and enhancements to potential sites were discussed. Groups were identified who could lend expertise to certain needs.

Existing public recreational sites were listed:

Participants' perceptions of recreational value varied. Those who perceived the river as a valuable recreational facility gave the following examples: Those who perceived no value for recreation listed reasons such as: River Access – Challenges to accessibility were divided into physical public access and visual public access.
Restraints on Public Physical Access
  1. Dense Development – Majority of riverside land is under private ownership
  2. Water Quality – Degraded conditions would not encourage use
  3. Some public riverside land has steep banks
  4. Plainville has potential for physical access, but none exists
  5. Plymouth has potential for physical access, only some exists
Public Visual Access Restraints
Strategies of Building Access included Water Quality – To address the water quality impediment, buffers were discussed as necessary, created through land use regulations, to control development on riverbanks as a means to reduce nonpoint source pollution and as enhancements to the viewshed. Natural buffer vegetation was mentioned as another water quality and viewshed enhancement.

Outreach and education were identified as vehicles to achieve prevention of NPS urban runoff, perhaps in the form of a brochure distributed with water bills. Who would be the educators?

Potential Educational Providers

Other items related to outreach and education are:
Solutions included: Scenic Value – Preservation of and increases in scenic value identified the following potential solutions:
Who should do what? The benefits to all groups who would comprise the partnership must be enumerated to promote involvement. The details of coordination of the partnership that examines the problems, outlines the solutions and implements the changes were examined and described in terms of who were the planners, doers or both.
ENTITY PLANNING DOING BOTH HOW
CCRPA Yes..Maps, research
PRWA ..YesData, on-ground exp, prioritization
Historic SocietiesYes..Data
Mun. Gov't. ..YesRegulations, plans
Fish & Game Clubs..Yes.
Scouts.Yes..
Garden Clubs..Yes.
FRWAYes..
Environmental Groups..Yes
Citizens..Yes
Landowners..Yes
Town Parks & Rec. Depts..Yes.
Businesses..Yes.
Chambers of CommerceYes..
Civic Orgs..Yes..
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The Pequabuck River – Historic Preservation


Workshop at Manross Memorial Library, Bristol
March 18, 1999
Attendees:

Initial discussion centered on the subject of recognition of the cultural heritage of the region and its connection with the Pequabuck River. There was agreement that the presence of this heritage is visible at some places, invisible at others and that all places were vulnerable to loss.

A fraction of the Industrial Revolution in the Pequabuck River corridor is intact.
An inventory of notable sites and structures followed:

Threats to retention of historic cultural heritage were delineated as follows:

A need to protect what little is left was voiced. Groups were listed who could alone or collectively assist in the preservation of structures and sites:
General recommendations for preserving, protecting and enhancing historic sites and structures in the river corridor were listed as follows:
The Connecticut Humanities Council was cited as a source of funds for studies for cultural heritage tourism (approval through local tourism district).

Some examples of specific site problems were delineated:

Different constituents have different needs (outside visitors versus residents). Facilities for recreation should recognize these different needs. Also noted was that occasionally environmental restoration can be in conflict with historic preservation. For example, historic dams on the river interfere with fish passage (Pierce's Bridge Dam, near Middle Street and Riverside Ave.).
While many sites are gone, opportunity exists for establishing interpretive trails/corridor tourism.
The Litchfield Hills Travel Council has published driving tour information for the area.
Enhancement of such a concept requires:
The workshop ended with the important reminder that the river is the link that joins the watershed communities physically and culturally.

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