Alert — and concerned — “06880” reader Lynn Flint writes:
This is a very important issue. It merits deeper and more considerate thought than a quick vote at 1 in the morning.
The poor Saugatuck River has a huge dump from the YMCA now, above the dam by the Merritt Parkway.
That’s okay. because it sits and settles in the deep Lees Pond. There are residences below the dam, and Canal Park too.
Bucolic Lees Pond. (Photo/Doug Steinberg)
It may and probably should have city sewer. But our town sewer system is recycled wastewater which goes into the Saugatuck under the I-95 bridge, once treated.
We had problems with feces from Black Duck floating in the river.
Sewage needs to sit in septic tanks or sewage treatment plants to become safely organic. It needs to rest while the microbes in the waste die off.
COVID testing was done in waste removal systems, where microbes in the expelled urine and solid matter could be detected. We also know that drugs (prescribed and on the street) appear in wastewater, and affect living marine organisms.
If nearby Long Island Sound, which the Saugatuck empties into, is the oyster capital of the East — partly because it thrives on the nutrients of organic waste from our communities, and partly through the careful seafood farming management practiced by local fishermen — shouldn’t we be careful that that organic waste is not contagious or toxic?
Long Island Sound oyster boat. (Photo/Gene Borio)
Think about it: Where have all the bluefish gone? Why don’t those planks of winter birds come and float in the mouth of the Saugatuck until it gets warmer up north again for them?
What about the recently observed hundreds of porpoises beating their way up Long Island Sound on a mission looking for new habitats and food sources, as the water warms nicely for them?
As the water warms, doesn’t it become more susceptible to new plant growth and new species from the south? Is it good to add on top of all that more human waste, which may not be fully broken down yet because of its sheer quantity?
These are all things to think about — things that may yield a brilliant solution to the kinds of problems that are appearing all over Earth right now.
Why don’t we be the vanguard in the solution by bringing together all of our best minds and ideas — including our kids. Get Staples students to work on this problem.
Combined with AI, you’ll hve Einstein.
Lynn adds:
While we’re at it, let’s fix the delta of the Saugatuck. It’s all silted up now, challenging our channel which is not deep enough for big sailboats.
The mouth of Saugatuck River looks beautiful. But it’s silted up. (Photo/John Kantor)
We can guild a breakwater out of stone between the low mud tide flats and the channel near the straits, where Cedar Point and Compo Yacht Basin come into the river.
The mud flats will become dry land slowly, extremely fertile like the flower fields of Holland. That would make a fabulous community garden, on the lap of the Longshore Inn with its weddings and delicious patio dining restaurant.
Wouldn’t that be beautiful? It would be easier than dredging, and more effective. Water runs faster through a narrow passage. I think a breakwater like a dyke on just the Longshore side would probably do the trick.
There are many masons around who remember how to construct stone walls in water. It has to do with marine concrete, which has a special element that makes it stronger the longer it sits in salt water. The ancient Romans knew how to build port structures and bridges that involve salt water.
These structures become stronger over time. We marvel at them when we tour ancient ruins.
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What an inspiring way to begin a weekend!!! Bluto Blutarsky, my SHS ‘70 classmate, said when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor: “This can be the best day of our lives, don’t let it be the worst.” Then he called his fellow Staples grads to action: “LET’S DO IT!!!!!” President Biden inspired us to “choose truth over facts.” Clearly we true Westporters can do no less. Move the Y back downtown and restore Camp Mahackeno to its pristine beauty.
Whoa!
Do so called “Westpot concerned” have such short memories that they have ALREADY forgotten this summers Campo Beach forced toxic contamination beach closures?!
Where do you think the high bacterial contamination comes from?
GEEZ!
outa sight outa mind!
These are some of the biggest reasons lower Long Island Sound. That’s us folks! Is the worst contaminated water in the entire US!
The decades long ignoring this dangerous peak out theirroblem is comming home to roost on the waters of Westport!
WESTPORT WATERS ARE BURNING WHILE WESTPORT’S NEROS AREFIDDLING!
Instead of always focusing on the “pretty side of Westport” in the arts and such we are becoming important as the “farts of Westport”!
Let’s hope this starts a few Westporters and maybe even some DEEP officials to breaking out their popcorn stashes!
And while we’re at it, let’s stop installing artificial turf fields which shed hundreds of pounds of microplastics every year into our waterways, which kill our shellfish and marine life and accumulate in our bodies. A 2023 study found that artificial turf fibers accounted for up to 15% of the plastic particles found near the shore in Spain.
Sustainable Westport has to weigh in on this. Until then, I’ll use the new restroom facilities on South beach (even though it lacks a bidet).
Our long established “blue line” sewer expansion limitation is hugely desirable and must be maintained. Septic systems can and do work and sewer connections promote, dramatically, larger structures and more density. The “blue line” is and should remain sacrosanct.
As to dredging the Saugatuck, that has been on the active/inactive list of needs for 25 or more years. Jen Tooker and Peter Ratkiewich should write all as to why the effort so far has failed. It is a sad story.
Thank you for this piece and for the information provided commenters. Environmental and public health inseparable.
All great comments. It’s terrifying and sad that we are in this mess. The things that are easy to fix – like no Astroturf – should be done immediately!
Some great research is being done by Harbor Watch. Nikki Spiller and Kasey Burns supported , in part, by the Westport Shellfish Commission regarding the status of some of our tributaries that flow into the sound. As well, Dick Harris of Norwalk Blue and a member of the Westport Shellfish Commission has engaged Staples students in testing for various forms of PFAS and acetollphos. We are grateful for their amazing contributions to water quality monitoring and recommended solutions to improve our waterways and marine ecosystems.
Thanks for this take on the health of the river, how we’re affecting it, and what we need to know to protect it…
It seems to me to be the horse that sits directly in front of a whole host of variously conceived and disparate projects heaped in the Town Cart: “Reconnect the Riverfront,” CTDOT’s plans for the Cribari Bridge, whatever lands in the to-be-determined Saugatuck Center, etc.
The present and future office holders of Westport could use thinking like this to help get their priorities straight.
Wow! That sounds lovely and constructive. I know nothing of how all this works but your written starting point should be further explored. Thank you
This certainly caught my eye:
“The poor Saugatuck River has a huge dump from the YMCA now, above the dam by the Merritt Parkway. . . .That’s okay. because it sits and settles in the deep Lees Pond.”
Actually, very much NOT okay – and not just for the 25 or so homeowners who live on / canoe on / fish in Lees Pond (I am one of them), but also for the many Westporters frequently access Lees Pond by launching a canoe, or rowbaot, or SUP from Ford Road (it’s open to use by all), and of course there are the Camp Mahackeno kids who are on the Pond every year.
While extreme polution events (like raw sewage) are thankfully quite rare, the Y’s operation of the FAST sewage system along the western bank of Lees Pond has led to a steady discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus into Lees Pond for over 20 years, often in excess of the limits that were set when the new facility at Mahackeno was originally approved. That has, in turn, led to a failure of the Pond’s ecosystem (it’s now full of algea and weeds) AND the Pond has also silted up dramtically over the years, it is no longer “the deep Lees Pond”, rather it’s on the way to becoming a swamp.
While the waters of Lees Pond represent a valuable Town resource, the Y owns the land under Lees Pond, so only they can do anything about the Pond, regardless of the particpation and support from the Lees Pond neighbors, which has been offered. And rejected.
As Vonnegut might say, “so it goes” . . .
Interesting that the FAST system has been dumping nitrogen and phosphorous into Lees Pond “for over 20 years” since the Y has only been operating there since 2014. The more likely culprit of the more than 20 year demise of the Lee Pond ecosystem is run off from abutter’s properties for over 50 years – not just the handful in Westport but the hundreds, if not thousands of properties upstream on the Saugatuck.
I meant to say 10, I well know the timeline. But I can’t edit my earlier post.
And the fact that the pond has significantly deteriorated during the Y’s operation of its main facility is well documented with photos. But let’s set aside the pollution topic for a moment. It would be nice if the Y did something, anything for the pond, even if in partnership with the neighbors.
Westport desperately needs a larger and better srwage treatment and wastewater treatmenr sanitation facilityt facility. As a few may know Greenwich has a special treatment and waste facility. Westport needs to chase down what ever money and support from federal agencies they can secure and start getting a bigger and better sewage and wastewater treatme⅘nt facility.
This is one of the biggest problem Westport has wi⁶th the use of septic tank usage that with 3 or 4 times more residences that are all connected and operating their own septic tanks that are leeching a vastly greater sewage outfall into our shallow amongst Westports⁷ granite substrate which is a direct groundwater that travels into our creeks, ponds, streams, rivers and Long Island sound. We definately need a better trratment facility that was needed 15-20 years ago!
Most of us know we are ” not full of IT” , but we certainly qualify as those who are beaching, boating , swiming and living in IT!
OMG! There’s fecal matter in our water in WESTPORT!
None of our elected leaders care, and now let’s add another 500 condo units to our septic plant.
FYI, I personally forced 97 houses to hookup to city sewers that resulted in threats of law suits.
And the largest polluters were Sherwood Island State Park that had large pipes dumping raw sewage directly into the Mill Pond.
The cleanest waters in Fairfield County are now the Sherwood Mill Pond and that’s because I spent a lifetime cleaning it up at my expense.
Soon or beaches will be unusable due to pollution and our beachfront properties will plummet in value.
Besides the schools I believe all these newcomers are here because of the beaches and water related recreation.
There should be an immediate moratorium on any new construction of any kind until we have the infrastructure to handle the wastewater.