The Shepaug River

History

Timeline
500 - 250 Million Years Ago: The great "crunch" when Pangaea formed Cameron's Line which runs through the Shepaug watershed
25,000 Years Ago: Continental glacier covers Shepaug region
15,000 Years Ago: Ice gone
10,000 Years Ago: Migration to region by aboriginal cultures
1659 - 1758: Contact by colonists; total demise of Pootatucks and other indigenous tribes in Connecticut
1872: Shepaug Railroad completed; old water power industries decline
1893: In April the Connecticut General Assembly passes legislation giving Waterbury broad powers to develop water resources in Litchfield and New Haven counties.
1921: The town of Washington realizes that perhaps too much has been given away, and tries to get the legislature to repeal the 1893 act. Fearing that repeal will succeed, Waterbury negotiates an agreement with Washington that permits continued development in return for the City's guarantee of a release of a minimum of 1.5 million gallons per day into the Shepaug.

Fountain at the base of the Shepaug Dam supplies the river with 1.5 million gallons of water per day.

1933: The (lower) Shepaug Reservoir Dam is built.
1955: In August, the "Great Flood" wipes out Washington Depot; farms decline and residential development explodes
1965: The (upper) Cairns Reservoir Dam is built.
1979: Five towns approve local ordinances creating a permanent intertown advisory commission known as the Shepaug-Bantam River Board, later the Shepaug-Bantam River Protection Commission.
Early 1990's: Activist groups explore the possibility of adding the Shepaug to the national Wild and Scenic River System. The Shepaug is still on the list of rivers under consideration for inclusion. [United States Code; Title 16 -- Conservation; Chapter 28 -- Wild & Scenic Rivers; § 1276; see #48]
1994: Shepaug-Bantam River Protection Commission disbands.
1995: The Shepaug River Association is formed.
June 6, 1996: In Act 96-245, Sec 23, the Connecticut legislature forms a task force "to study the implementation of the agreement between the town of Washington and the city of Waterbury regarding water supply and the diversion of the Shepaug River" and to report its findings by January 1, 1997.
January 1, 1997: The task force publishes its report. The Task Force finds that it appears possible for the City of Waterbury to operate its system in a way that would permit a smaller diversion and greater streamflow. They recommend that the City evaluate the potential to increase water releases, that the executives of Washington and Waterbury meet to review the contract, and, if necessary, negotiate a resolution.
Early 1997: Several meetings between Waterbury and Washington are held with no productive results and negotiations break off.
June 12, 1997: Russell Dirienzo, Chairman of the Roxbury Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), writes to Thomas Morrissey, CT DEP, objecting to Waterbury's plans to increase its municipal water service to Middlebury without adequately addressing the issue of the Shepaug.
July 17, 1997: At a town meeting, Washington residents vote unanimously to join the Shepaug River Association lawsuit against Waterbury.
July 18, 1997: The town of Roxbury also votes to join the suit.
July 21, 1997: Waterbury files a preemptive suit in Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment.
July 22, 1997: The Shepaug River Association files suit in Litchfield county.
March 1998: Depositions begin in preparation for the trial, slated to begin in December of 1999. [See Our River: A Brief Legal Update]
February 16, 2000: The judge rules in favor of the Shepaug River, ordering Waterbury to release more water, tied to seasonal flows. See the full text of the Judge's decision or the Associated Press story for details.