Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Connecticut Water Quality Action Plans

Connecticut Total Maximum Daily Load Plans for Bacteria

Download a CT Water Quality Action Plan (WQAP) by Waterbody ID

Public Notice
The updated CT Draft Statewide Bacteria Core Document and 23 watershed appendices (documents will appear in your "downloads" folder) are now available for public comment from 10/16/2024 through 12/13/2024. Public comments must be received on or before December 13, 2024, in writing, to be considered prior to submission of the final document to US EPA. Direct comments electronically to Rebecca Jascot (rebecca.jascot@ct.gov). Please use subject line “2024 Bacteria TMDL Comments.” Two public meetings will be held (registration required) on October 30, 2024, via ZOOM from 11:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. To download a Draft TMDL Appendices, please visit the  2024 Draft Bacteria TMDL Webpage.

Image of bacteria under a microscope

Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads 

A Total Maximum Daily Load Plan or a TMDL is a type of Water Quality Action Plan that determines the amount of  a pollutant that can be present in a waterbody without causing negative impacts to fish, wildlife, recreation, or  other uses. TMDLs can also be used to protect waters by staying below this pollutant amount.

Bacteria is found in most places. Having high amounts of bacteria in a waterbody could indicate the presence of viruses and pathogens, that if ingested, can make people sick.  The Department of   Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) uses indicator bacteria to determine if the water quality is safe for activities such as swimming. The Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture   (DABA) determines if marine waters are safe for shellfishing. If the results of bacteria monitoring show high amounts of bacteria, and that the waterbody is not meeting Water Quality Standards (WQS)the waterbody is considered impaired and not safe for those activities. Connecticut uses E. coli and Total coliform as an indicator of potential harmful pathogens in fresh waters and Enterococci for   estuarine or marine recreational waters. To determine risk in shellfish harvesting areas, fecal coliform organisms are used (based on criteria recommended under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program; NSSP).

Image describes the hierarchy of TMDL development. Core document, Appendices, Addendum.In 2012, CT developed the Statewide Bacteria TMDL. This planning structure contains the Core Document which houses all the background information, references, and support materials. Each watershed has its own appendices with specific information about the watershed. Including the type of land use, land cover, impervious surface percentages, waterbody impairments, point sources, and waste load and load allocations. In 2024, CT DEEP updated the Core Document and developed 23 new watershed appendices. One of those updates is to include additional information in TMDLs to help with the development of Nonpoint Source Watershed Based Plans. Some of the 9 elements can be addressed in TMDL.  Others will need to be addressed in a NPS plan, which only needs to include those elements that couldn’t be addressed in the TMDL.  There are 9-element requirements for 319 funding of Watershed Based Plans. This updated process allows for a comprehensive Water Quality Action Plan that not only identifies the sources of pollution, but also identifies ways and actions that can be taken to fix it.

Public Notice

The State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) is making available the Draft State of Connecticut Statewide Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Core Document and 23 Draft TMDL Appendices (documents will appear in your "downloads" folder) for public review and comment from October 16, 2024, to December 13, 2024.  These Reports were prepared by the CT DEEP to fulfill requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) under Section 303(d).  The final document will be submitted to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) following the Department’s consideration of the comments received.

Interested persons may obtain copies of the draft State of Connecticut Statewide Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load  (TMDL) and Draft Appendices on the CT DEEP TMDL website at https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Water/TMDL/Total-Maximum-Daily-Load. Hard copies of the document may be requested by contacting rebecca.jascot@ct.gov.

Comments on the draft document must be received by the Department on or before December 13, 2024, in writing, to be considered prior to submission of the final document to US EPA.  Comments should be directed electronically to Rebecca Jascot (rebecca.jascot@ct.gov). Please use subject line “2024 Bacteria TMDL Comments.” Written comments may also be submitted in paper form to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, Water Planning and Management Division, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127, Attn: Rebecca Jascot.

Two public meetings will be held (registration required) on October 30, 2024, via ZOOM from 11:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

CT DEEP is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request an accommodation contact us at 860-418-5910 or deep.accommodations@ct.gov.

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Content updated October 16, 2024