Land conservancy plans to acquire large Colebrook Reservoir easement

KENT — The Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) will purchase a conservation easement for $1 million on 5,500 acres of pristine, forested land surrounding the Colebrook Reservoir in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

In making the announcement last week, NCLC executive director Catherine Rawson referred to the permanent protection of the watershed acreage as a groundbreaking win for conservation in Northwest Connecticut, and “exceptionally important to the region’s conservation future.”

According to the environmental group Save the Sound, which also was a party to the proceedings, the Colebrook Reservoir is one of the state’s last few remaining large, untapped surface drinking water supplies. It feeds directly into the Farmington River, a National Wild and Scenic River.

NCLC will purchase the conservation easement on the 5,500 acres of land owned  by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), which comprises 4,300 acres in Connecticut and 1,200 acres in Massachusetts, for $1 million.

The water company will be permitted to continue its existing uses of the property, and new public access to the property will be allowed for passive recreation such as hunting, fishing, hiking and boating, subject to NCLC and state health department approvals.

Residential, industrial, commercial and other forms of development will not be allowed.

An 11-page abandonment permit issued July 20 by Commissioner Manisha Juthani of the state Department of Public Health (DPH), along with a Memorandum of Understanding with The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), paved the way for the water utility company to grant the permanent easement to NCLC.

An applicant for an abandonment permit must provide sufficient information to verify that the water source will not be needed for present or future water supply, is consistent with the water company’s water supply plan, and will not be needed by the company in an emergency.

Open space land surrounding drinking water supplies is subject to protections under state law. The abandonment permit resulted in 10 billion gallons no longer being considered a potential drinking water supply by the DPH.

10 billion gallons
of water at issue

Earlier this year, MDC sought an abandonment permit for a 10-billion-gallon water storage space in the Colebrook Reservoir.

The MDC owns a total of 6,490 acres in Connecticut and 6,370 acres in Massachusetts in the Colebrook Reservoir watershed, located on the West Branch of the Farmington River.

Environmental groups were concerned that such an abandonment could set a precedent that would potentially jeopardize the status of the land surrounding the reservoirs, which is currently open space.

“The best way to protect our high-quality reservoirs, rivers and streams is to protect the forested lands around them,” Rawson said. “Through the vision and partnership of MDC and the state’s leading environmental organizations, these essential lands and waters will be protected for the public benefit forever.”

Roger Reynolds, senior legal director for Save the Sound, said water supply lands are of “tremendous value” for the present and future generations of Connecticut and Massachusetts residents. His organization’s legal team stepped in after MDC announced it was terminating a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“These lands are currently quasi-protected yet vulnerable to development, and their conservation is contingent on use of these reservoirs for water supply. This agreement adds an important layer of protection for human health, wildlife habitat, water quality and recreational access.”

Towns backed MDC’s abandonment effort

In making the announcement, Scott Jellison, Chief Executive Officer of the MDC, said it is important to note that each of the four Colebrook Reservoir towns, Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Hartland, have submitted letters of support of the abandonment application to the state health department.

“For decades these town and their residents have partnered with the MDC and its staff in ensuring that the land surrounding the Colebrook Reservoir is maintained as a protected watershed and available for passive recreation. We are not abandoning that partnership,” said Jellison.

Jellison noted that MDC and the watershed towns recognize the 10 billion gallons of future potential emergency drinking water would not be available during a drought and that the best use is for recreational and river benefits. “The towns do not support diverting the reservoir for drinking water supply.”

The water utility’s rights to 10 billion gallons of water storage space in the Colebrook Reservoir/West Branch Reservoir system come through a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Termination of the contract means that MDC will no longer have rights to the storage area nor the financial obligations that follow.

Terms of the permit

Under the terms of the abandonment permit, MDC will continue to hold rights to 6.5 billion gallons of water between the two reservoirs. The easement ensures that the abandonment permit and any future changes to the status of the remaining water sources in the watershed do not result in changes to the conservation status of the surrounding lands, according to NCLC.

Environmental powerhouses joined forces

NCLC, along with Save the Sound, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Farmington River Watershed Association, Connecticut Land Conservation Council, and The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut jointly submitted comments to DPH in support of MDC’s move to surrender a portion of its water rights.

They touted the environmental benefits, particularly the potential for unrestricted water flow downriver, which, especially during low flow conditions, could improve aquatic life, river water quality and ecological diversity within the downstream reaches of the river.

In addition, the conservation easement will help maintain “raw drinking water quality” in the remainder of the reservoir’s supply for potential future use, according to NCLC.

For more than a half century, the Farmington River has benefited from the augmented cold-water releases provided by the Colebrook Reservoir through Goodwin Dam, often at a flow rate higher than upstream in-flows, said Aimee Petras, executive director of the Farmington River Watershed Association.

“These flows, and their reliable high quality, have fostered a recreation fishery that is one of the best in the nation, as well as a vibrant paddling community.”

Sarah Pellegrino, land protection and strategies manager for the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, said in a statement that her group is thrilled that this new Memorandum of Understanding with MDC will help protect such a large set of forested lands in the headwaters of the Farmington River.

“In protecting these forests, we are protecting not only their own rich biodiversity, but also one of the highest quality river systems in the Connecticut River watershed.