Water is a vital natural resource essential to all life on earth.
In Connecticut, many of our residents rely on
groundwater for their drinking water supply, whether from private wells or public water supply wells.
Groundwater is extracted through wells from underground water sources known as aquifers. Aquifers
can provide a clean, safe, reliable source of drinking water now and in the future, but are vulnerable to
contamination from overlying land use activities.
The Aquifer Protection Area Program was developed to protect the State’s largest public water supply aquifers.
This proactive program is intended to prevent contamination of public water supplies by managing land use
activities in critical aquifer areas. The program is a three-way partnership between the State, water companies
, and municipalities. The State provides oversight and technical support to the water companies and the
cities. Water companies do the work necessary to map the land areas that need to be protected.
Municipalities are responsible for adopting and enforcing land use regulations to minimize the contaminant
threats to our aquifers.
The Aquifer Protection Area program balances the protection of our public drinking water sources with the need
for continued economic growth. New high-risk land uses are not permitted to locate in Aquifer Protection
Areas. Existing high-risk land uses in these areas, while subject to best management practices to minimize
contaminant threats, are allowed to continue to operate, change and grow to keep pace with the economy.
As the State’s primary land use control agents, the Municipal Aquifer Protection Agencies serve as the keystone of the Aquifer Protection Program.
Aquifer Protection Area Agency Regulations
Aquifer Protection Area Map
Deep/Aquifer Protection Program
Board Members
Richard W. Cool Sr. (R) Chair, rcoolsr@sbcglobal.net
Eileen Bronko (R) Vice-Chair, ebronko1@snet.net
Neil Mascola (D) Secretary, mcherrys@aol.com
Thomas L. Kiernan (D) Regular member, thomaslkiernan@yahoo.com
Attila “AJ” Bordas (R) Regular member, ajbordas@yahoo.com
Alternates
Vacancy Alternate member
Vacancy Alternate member
Vacancy Alternate member