AQUIFER PROTECTION REGULATIONS
The Town of Old Saybrook recently adopted updated Aquifer Protection District boundaries and new, very comprehensive Aquifer Protection Area (APA) Regulations. Connecticut State Law requires that the Town adopt and enforce these new regulations.
An aquifer is a geologic formation able to yield water to wells. An aquifer protection area (APA) is an area consisting of well fields, areas of contribution and areas of recharge. The Town of Old Saybrook is required to regulate uses located on land that may contribute water to the public water supply wells in the future. Old Saybrook has APAs located in the northwestern part of Town extending over the Westbrook line (Holbrook Aquifer) and in the Bokum Road/Middlesex Tpke area (Saybrook Aquifer).
The State of Connecticut has developed a list of uses that the Town is required to regulate if the uses are located within an Aquifer Protection District. The State has prepared a list of potentially regulated activities that must be registered with the Town if they are conducted within a designated APA. Regulated activities are primarily associated with commercial and industrial uses and do not affect residential uses.
The Town must take several steps before processing registration requests. The Zoning Commission was named the Aquifer Protection Agency for Old Saybrook by the adoption of a Town Aquifer Protection Ordinance in 2004. In 2007, the State completed final mapping for the Holbrook Aquifer and preliminary mapping for the Saybrook Aquifer. In 2008, we adopted the official APA boundaries on our zoning map. These boundaries were determined by an extensive study conducted several years ago by the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. These boundaries cannot be altered unless there is proof that a property is located in an area that does not contribute groundwater to a public water supply well field.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Land Use Department.
Christina Costa
Enforcement Officer & Aquifer Protection Agent
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