Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

Understanding Groundwater - Protecting a Natural Resource

Please take out a pencil and a sheet of paper, and list the different ways you use water in a normal week.

Your responses may range from preparing that life-nourishing morning pot of coffee to sprinkling the front lawn at night.  Indeed, water is, to quote a commercial’s tag line, “everywhere you want to be.” 

But where exactly does all that water come from?  Like most of us, you might be hard pressed to come up with good answers.

These pages provide some simple, clear answer about water, where it come from, and the common sense steps everyone can take to help ensure that it remains safe for use by all living creatures.

It is, though, mainly about groundwater, a large source for water of families worldwide. A quick fact: 98 percent of the worlds’ fresh water, excluding polar ice caps, is groundwater.

These pages explain the direct links between groundwater and surface waters - wetlands, streams, ponds, oceans - and its connection to all life, including us bath-taking, clothes-washing, snow-shoveling, toilet-flushing, water-skiing, pasta-cooking, soda-drinking…humans.  The better we understand these links and connections, the better we will husband this valuable natural resource.