Watershed Inspection

What is the “Watershed Inspection?”

The watershed inspection is an inspection of the land that makes up a drinking water watershed. Connecticut law requires water supply companies to complete this inspection. Groton Utilities employees visit every property on our watershed at least once a year. They check to make sure that septic systems are working, animal manure is being disposed of properly, fertilizers and pesticides are being applied correctly and other sources of pollution are minimized. Utility employees also visit businesses located on the watershed to make sure they are using and disposing hazardous materials safely. The inspection results are submitted to the Connecticut Department of Health each year.

What is a drinking water watershed?   It’s the area of land where collected water (such as rainfall) eventually drains into a drinking water supply.

What is a drinking water watershed?

A watershed is defined as the area of land that drains to one place. On a drinking water watershed, the rain that falls on a particular watershed’s land drains to a lake, river or reservoir whose water is used to supply people with their drinking water. When you are driving on the road and you see a sign that reads “Now entering watershed area” it means that the land where you are driving drains to a body of water that supplies people with drinking water.

How does the watershed inspection work?

Initially a letter is sent out to all of the known property owners on our watershed to inform them when the inspection will begin for a particular year. If a property owner would like to schedule a specific time for the inspection, they can do it by calling Groton Utilities at (860) 446-4071. If no appointment has been scheduled, utilities employees will visit the property once during the year, usually on a Friday or Saturday. You do not have to be present during the inspection if you do not wish. The inspection is external; we do not inspect home interiors. We do inspect storage facilities for residential and business properties, including gas stations. We also have informational questionnaires that help us keep track of possible pollution on our watershed. If the property owner is not home at the time of the inspection, questionnaires will be left for them.

What if we find a problem?

If a problem is discovered in the course of our inspection the property owner will be notified in writing and given a reasonable time to correct the problem.