A trickle down system that works

Welcome to the Salisbury Conservation Commission’s quarterly missive. Our mission is to educate ourselves as well as fellow Salisburyians on the important natural habitats unique to our beautiful and fascinating town and to learn how better to preserve them, armed with science and determination.

We had a wonderful rainy spring and early summer here in the Northwest Corner. Not so good for tennis and golf, but fabulous for filtration which is the exciting process whereby our aquifer gets replenished.Here we will review this process and hope that more rain is coming soon.

Water is delicious. Salisburyians get their drinking water from either private wells or town water, the latter being managed by Aquarion Water Company. The town water comes from two different sources: surface water and ground water.The surface water comes from two reservoirs, Reservoir #1 and #2, located on the Taconic uplift and is filtered at the Lakeville water treatment facility.These reservoirs supply 21% of the water used by the town. The town’s ground water comes from two well fields that access the aquifer.This water has gone through a natural filtration process and does not need to be treated.The two reservoirs and the ground water serve about 2,200 people in our town of about 4,000.

Water from the aquifer has been purified by filtration, a process that occurs when rainwater, on its trip to the ground, is slowed first by the tree canopy and then by the foliage of understory plants allowing for a gentle delivery to the forest floor.Some of the rain is absorbed by tree and plant roots, but not all.What is left continues through the humus, sand, and rocks that trap sediments, bacteria, heavy metals, phosphorus and nitrogen, leaving naturally filtered water to descend to the aquifer. Forests are the stars in this filtration adventure. Their trees’ leaves and needles provide buffers for the rain. The “understory” plays an important role in this filtration process as well.

When there is an extreme weather event, such as the heavy downpours that we are seeing more frequently these days, there needs to be a dense growth of trees and understory to protect important soils from eroding. “Whenever water is brownish in color on rainy days, it is carrying off valuable soil.” (Peter Wohlleben, “The Hidden Life of Trees”, p.87.)

If all goes according to plan, the forest floor acts like a sponge, soaking up the gently delivered rainwater.

Salisbury’s forests were denuded from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries to power Salisbury’s charcoal industry. Now they play another critical role in our town’s life. They provide important habitats, filter rainwater, cool our air and many other essential benefits to our lives. Curtis Rand, First Selectman and professional forester, comments that: “Taking care of our forests is crucial for our well-being. Forests mitigate climate change, regulate our water, prevent soil erosion and provide biodiversity.” To read more about our town’s forests, please read the “Forest” section of Salisbury’s NRI found here: www.salisburyct.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NaturalResourceInventory2009.pdf

To help preserve this synergistic water filtration system, we asked AI “how do we keep Salisbury, CT water clean?” Its answer was surprisingly helpful with important takeaways being:

— Properly dispose of hazardous waste: Never pour fats, oils, grease, household chemicals, or medications down the sink or toilet. Salisbury participates in the HazWaste Central program, which offers safe and free disposal of these items at a facility in New Haven.

You’ll need to pre-register online for collection events, which run on Saturdays from May to October.

—Landscaping and Outdoors:

—Leave your leaves on your forest floor and wherever else they have fallen. Those leaves create duff, which is the stuff that slows water down and increases the first part of filtration. It helps to slow the flow and move water vertically. If you must rake leaves, rake them downhill to the bottom of your lawn and make a berm.

Taking leaves away in bags or a truck is a loss for your bank account and a loss for the environment.

—Minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which can contaminate runoff.

Consider organic or slow-release fertilizers, if needed at all.

— Direct downspouts onto permeable surfaces like lawns or consider installing rain barrels to collect and reuse rainwater for plants.

—Pick up after your pets and dispose of waste properly.

—In the community:

—Support local regulations: Vote for policies that protect local water resources and support responsible land use.

—Educate others: Share information about water conservation and pollution prevention with friends, family, and neighbors.

The Conservation Commission suggests planting native plants. They need less water to grow than non-native plants and support our ecosystem by feeding critters that help our trees and the understory to thrive, preserving the process of filtration. The quality of our water resources is directly dependent on the choices we residents make in stewarding our properties.

Please reach us at conservationcommission@salisburyct.us for comments and suggestions.