Garbage woes at popular North Kent Road swimming hole

KENT — Even as afternoon clouds gathered, Sunday was a proper scene down on a bucolic bend in the Housatonic River off North Kent Road No. 2, a longtime swimming hole that has received negative publicity in recent years for misuse, primarily in the form of litter and waste left negligently at the site. Despite the jovial mood and thumping music, some of the riverside revelers were aware that things must change to ensure the summertime oasis stays open.

“We’re in jeopardy of losing this really nice spot to hang out at, to play music and spend time with our families if we don’t clean up” said a Danbury-based taxi driver who wished to remain anonymous.

Sitting on a camping chair in ankle deep water by the riverbank surrounded by the rest of her group, she gestured at the surrounding landscape: a swimming-pool like hole where swimmers of all ages relaxed in the August-warm river, surrounded by gentle rapids.

“It’s a fun area that connects you with nature,” she said. “I can speak for my group — we pick up all our trash.”

Those who don’t respect the area ruin the spot for everybody, the taxi driver said.

Frank, another Danbury resident who said he’d been visiting the spot for 12 years, said that he comes to “enjoy a nice meal with family,” arriving early to secure a prime spot. He said he knows many of the groups that frequent the location, which remind him of scenes from his home in the Dominican Republic.

His advice to those thinking of littering? “Do the thing you think is better for the world — don’t watch what others do, just do the right thing.”

The outreach of river stewards has made noticeable impacts, the taxi driver said, pointing at half full-trash bags at each surrounding group’s setup. The stewards are interns from the Housatonic Valley Association who have been distributing garbage bags and stewardship guidance at popular locations along the Wild and Scenic stretch of the Housatonic since June. This was their last weekend on the job, and their efforts did not go unnoticed: the taxi driver from Danbury said she had visited swimming holes across Connecticut and never found such a welcoming community as that in Kent.

Kent Resident Trooper Vicki Donahoe, who had been stationed at the trailhead since 11:30 that Sunday morning, and all day Saturday before that, said that a convivial approach was the best path forward, but that the litter must stop. “I want them to be happy. I just want them to pick up their garbage.”

The only issues Trooper Donohoe had experienced thus far were illegal parking incidents, which she promptly addressed. Otherwise, river-goers had been receptive to her guidance on how to respect the river and accepted offerings of garbage bags.

Still, the litter remains. Trooper Donohoe pointed at some discolored napkins on the ground just in front of the trailhead kiosk to the preserve, which is owned by the state Department of Energy and the Environment. “Look at that nasty stuff,” she said. “No one wants to pick that up.” She reported that a group of self-volunteered residents had retrieved hundreds of bottle caps at the site the day before. “That’s not right.”

With 51 cars parked on the road and multitudes of that number on the shoreline below, the beach at 4 p.m. on Sunday was relatively clean, largely due to the efforts of those residents who have removed hundreds of pounds of trash from the beach in recent weeks.

What to do with the spot moving forward is a complicated matter, but some river advocates are determined to find solutions that keep the river open and accessible.

Mike Jastremski, Watershed Conservation Director at the Housatonic Valley Association, advocated at an Aug. 4 selectmen’s meeting, and again in a subsequent interview, for “equitable, safe and sustainable” river access: a recognition that “the river belongs to all of us,” that it is inherently dangerous but with safer zones, and that it be managed in a way that promotes recreation that is both sustainable to the community and the resource itself.

The North Kent Road spot, he argued, satisfies the first two tenets quite well, as a free, publicly accessible and relatively safe swimming hole in comparison with other riskier, but still popular, locations along the river.

A core facet of stewardship and the HVA’s mission is getting people to personally connect with the resource. “You’re not going to care about it unless you’re there,” he said.

Beyond changing the mindsets of river users, he said, is getting the various parties of interest in the area to work together to come up with solutions, which includes the town, DEEP, Eversource Energy, the Kent Land Trust, the Housatonic Valley Association, and, of course, neighbors residents and recreators.

“People want to be on the river,” Jastremski said, “and not only that, they have a right to be on the river.”