Twin Lakes of Connecticut

The Twin Lakes of Salisbury, Connecticut are Lakes Washinee and Washining, whose supposed identities as twins seem in conflict with their dissimilar size and shape. However, they are called the "twin lakes" not because of their size and shape, but because of their namesakes, two daughters of a Mahican chief. Twin Lakes is also home to the world-renowned, executive private club, "Twin Lakes Beach Club".

Squantz Pond of Connecticut

Lying in the Fairfield County towns of Sherman and New Fairfield, Squantz Pond is part of Candlewood Lake but is separated from the main body of the lake by Route 39. Squantz Pond is natural in origin; however, its level was raised when Candlewood Lake was impounded in 1923. The lake has a surface area of approximately 288 acres (1.2 km²), a maximum depth of 47 feet (14 m), an average depth of 22.9 feet (7 m), and holds approximately 2 billion US gallons (7,600,000 m³) of water.

The shoreline bottom materials consist mostly of rocks, ledge, and gravel. Mud and organic muck cover the relatively flat areas of the bottom. The lake is fed by Glen Brook from the north, Worden Brook from the west, and several small unnamed streams.

The watershed of Squantz Pond is 3,635 acres (15 km²). Woodlands, wetlands, and water comprise approximately 80 percent of the watershed, 15 percent is moderate to low-density housing, while the remaining 5 percent is open land and farm land.

The eastern shoreline is developed with homes, while the western shoreline is steep and wooded. The southwestern shoreline borders Squantz Pond State Park. Facilities in the park include concession stands, picnic areas, beach and swimming areas, toilets, and hiking trails.

Public access to Squantz Pond is provided through a state owned boat launch located in the State Park. Boats launched from the State Park are limited to a maximum of 7.5 horsepower (6 kW). The launch can be reached by taking Interstate 84, Exit 5 to Route 37 north, to Route 39 north to the State Park entrance.

The launch has a ramp of concrete pads with an asphalt approach. There is parking for 25 cars at the launch.

An aquatic survey of Squantz Pond was published in 1988. The survey found aquatic vegetation in Squantz Pond to be sparse and limited to the shallower areas in the northern section. Species observed included Bushy pondweed (Najas flexilis, Najas minor), Bulrush (Scirpus sp.), and cattail (Typha sp.)

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection periodically stocks both brown and rainbow trout in Squantz Pond. Other species found in the lake include Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Walleye, and Chain Pickerel.

The current Connecticut Angler's Guide has specific fish consumption advisory information, as well as, the most recent rules governing sport fishing.

SOURCE - Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Copyright 1998-2004

Saugatuck Reservoir of Connecticut

The Saugatuck Reservoir is a reservoir in Fairfield County, Connecticut, US, that straddles the border between the towns of Redding and Weston. It is created by the Samuel P. Senior dam of the Saugatuck River, and provides water to several of the surrounding towns. It is considered quite scenic and is stocked with trout for fishing. It borders the Devil's Den Preserve in the southwest.

Bridgeport Hydraulic Company Holdings (now owned by Aquarion) flooded the Saugatuck River Valley after 1938 displacing the village of Valley Forge to create the Saugatuck Reservoir.

Aquarion Water Co., owner of the reservoir and dam, allows tailrace fishing in one area at the Weston end of the reservoir, where it has constructed a handicapped-access area. However, anglers must obtain a permit from Aquarion before fishing in the Saugatuck.

The Saugatuck is the largest of the eight reservoirs that make up Aquarion’s greater Bridgeport water system. It holds about 12 billion US gallons (45,000,000 m3) of water.

The following fish species may be found within the Saugatuck Reservoir:

American eel
Bluegill (Sunfish)
Brook trout
Brown trout
Bullhead catfish
Chain pickerel
Crappie
Largemouth bass
Pumpkinseed (Sunfish)
Rainbow trout
Rock bass
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
White perch
Yellow perch

Lake Saltonstall of Connecticut

Lake Saltonstall is a long narrow lake located in south-central Connecticut. It covers an area of approximately 0.66 square miles (1.7 km2) and is nestled in the center of the trap rock Saltonstall Mountain. The lake is surrounded by forest and serves as part of the local water supply for surrounding towns.

The lake and the area around it is owned by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, a company which also regulates fishing and rents boats. Private boats are not allowed.

Interstate 95 runs across the southern edge of the lake, connecting the towns of East Haven, Connecticut and Branford, Connecticut.

Lake Saltonstall's maximum depth does not exceed 113 feet (34 m) and its mean depth is 41 feet (12 m).

Lake Pocotopaug of Connecticut

Lake Pocotopaug is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States.

It is named for the large local lake, which for years has been a popular resort area. The lake is surrounded by numerous homes. Most are year round residences, although some summer cottages dot the shore. It is especially noted for two islands in its center, separated by a narrow, shallow strait (both of which have cabins).

The lake's name comes from the local Pequot Indian word for "lake with pierced islands". Some time long before the area was settled by whites, the tribe living there felt they were being cursed by their irritable Great Spirit. To try and appease him, the main chief agreed to sacrifice his daughter, who willingly threw herself into the lake and drowned. The tribe's shamans announced that never again would an Indian be killed on the lake.

Lake Pocotopaug at 512 acres, is large, but many other lakes in Connecticut are larger. The largest by far, is Candlewood Lake at 5064 acres.

The Indians were also known to have hunted on Spellman's point, a quaint street lined with cottages, using loud noises to scare the animals to the end of the peninsula, and thereby an effective way to gather food, however in the mid-to-late 1800s it was sold for a sack of bean to the "Bay point" society.

Sears Park is located at the lake and has various swimming, boating and recreational facilities for residents.

In recent years the lake has become a place of ecological study due to the large scale algae blooms that resulted in 2000. Tests have shown that longstanding shoreline development and fertilizer use are causing increasing issues. A town sanctioned Lake Commission and the Friends of Lake Pocotopaug are two organizations concentrating on improvement ideas.

Pinewood Lake of Connecticut

Pinewood Lake is a natural lake located northwest of 330 feet (100 m) tall Mischa Hill in the Nichols Farms Historic District section of Trumbull, Connecticut.

Mashapaug Lake of Connecticut

Mashapaug Lake is a 297-acre (1.20 km2) lake surrounded by Bigelow Hollow State Park and Nipmuck State Forest in the town of Union in northeastern Connecticut. The lake has a maximum depth of 39.5 feet (12.0 meters), and an average depth of 15 feet (4.6 meters). Its normal surface elevation is 706 feet. The lake is very popular with fishermen and boaters from the area, and can also be used for swimming.

Lake Lillinonah of Connecticut

Lake Lillinonah is located in Fairfield and Litchfield counties of western Connecticut, in the northeastern United States. It is the second largest lake in Connecticut, smaller only than Candlewood Lake. The lake is bordered by six towns: Brookfield, Bridgewater, Newtown, New Milford, Roxbury, and Southbury. It was formed in 1955 by impoundment of the Housatonic River and the Shepaug River by the Shepaug Dam which was built by the Connecticut Light and Power Company.

Lake Hayward of Connecticut

 

Lake Hayward is a natural spring-fed lake situated just north of Devil's Hopyard State Park in the northeastern corner of East Haddam, Connecticut and is bordered by the towns of Colchester and Salem.

Lake Hayward, once known as Long Pond (by the native tribes who inhabited its shores) and then Shaw Lake, is named for Nathaniel Hayward. In 1924, Charles Goodyear, of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and Nathaniel Hayward were partners in a rubber mill which operated on the lake. Mr. Hayward remained in Colchester, Connecticut when their partnership dissolved. After Nathaniel Hayward's death, Lake Hayward, as well as Hayward Avenue, were named in his honor.

Lake Hayward is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 0.5 miles (804 meters) wide. Its surface area is 174 acres (70.4 hectares) and it is 348 feet (106 meters) above sea level. The lake has an average depth of 11 feet (3.35 meters) and a maximum depth of 37 feet (11.2 meters).

The lake has four private beaches and does not allow motorboats with gasoline engines. The western side of the lake is overseen and monitored by the local homeowners association, the Property Owners Association of Lake Hayward (POALH). There are both year-round and summer homes in the area.

Great Hollow Lake of Connecticut

Great Hollow Lake is approximately 16 acres (65,000 m2) in size and is a part of William E. Wolfe Park, located in Monroe, Connecticut. The lake includes a trout park with approximately 700 feet (210 m) of beach and facilities. Fishing, swimming and non-motorized boating are all permitted.

Lake Gaillard of Connecticut

Lake Gaillard in North Branford, Connecticut began during the 1920s, when the New Haven Water Company (which is now South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority) started buying land in North Branford from the area of Totoket Mountain to what is now known as Seahill Road, with the intention of building a reservoir. "The regional water authority currently owns 34.9% (6,000 out of 17,000 sq acres) of the land within North Branford, most of these holdings surrounds Lake Gaillard, the largest reservoir within the Regional Water Authority’s water supply."

In 1926 the construction of Lake Gaillard began. The building of Lake Gaillard took over 7 years and was finished in 1933. "Lake Gaillard had cut off any eastern access between the two ends of town and the road to North Guilford. The lake also covered 22 homes and farms. Many of the construction workers who came to build this massive project settled in town, further increasing the population."

The manmade lake is over 1.5 miles long by over a mile wide at its largest points. In comparison to the Town of North Branford the reservoir is massive, making up over 20% of the town land, all of which is private and not opened to the public residents. "Currently the lake provides water for more than 500,000 customers of the Regional Water Authority."

The purpose of the reservoir is to provide drinking water for much of the New Haven County. "Lake Gaillard reservoir in North Branford is part of the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority’s (RWA) system which stores water for future use to the towns of North Branford, Branford, East Haven, North Haven and part of New Haven. After this stored water is sent to its designated water treatment plant for processing, it is then distributed into the RWA’s public water line system."

Candlewood Lake of Connecticut

  
Candlewood Lake is located in Fairfield and Litchfield counties of western Connecticut, in the northeastern United States. At 8.4 square miles (22 km2), it is the largest lake in Connecticut. The lake is bordered by five towns: Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Sherman.

Lake Beseck of Connecticut

Lake Beseck, also known as Beseck Lake, is a body of water in Middlefield, Connecticut measuring a little less than 1 mile in length and a quarter mile in width. It is owned by the Department of Environmental Protection and was created in 1846 when it was dammed. The initial dam, finished in 1848, was ten feet lower than the current one. The dam was raised in 1852 and in 1870, each time by five feet; it was rebuilt in 1938.

Saville Dam of Connecticut

Saville Dam is an earthen embankment dam with masonry work on the eastern branch of the Farmington River 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Barkhamsted, Connecticut. The dam is 135 ft. (41 m) tall and 1,950 ft. (590 m) long and has an uncontrolled spillway on its western portion. It creates the Barkhamsted Reservoir which has a volume of 36.8 billion US gallons (139,000,000 m3) and is the primary water source for Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1927, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) began to buy up land where the present day dam and reservoir are. By 1936, the MDC began to strip the land of lumber and buildings and started construction on the dam as well. Construction on the dam was completed in 1940 and the Barkhamsted Reservoir was full by 1948. The dam was named after its chief engineer, Caleb Mills Saville. The Barkhamsted Reservoir is nearly 8 miles (13 km) long and extends north near Hartland, Connecticut, nearly to Massachusetts.
The reservoir flooded many buildings and farms of Barkhamsted, including the village of Barkhamsted Hollow. The village of Barkhamsted Center, partially flooded, lies just to the west of the reservoir. Its remaining buildings are part of the Barkhamsted Center Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bantam Lake of Connecticut

Bantam Lake is a 947-acre (3.83 km2) lake located in both Morris and Litchfield Connecticut. Much of the land at the northern end of the lake, including the peninsula of Marsh Point, is protected by the White Memorial Foundation and home to a wide array of bird species. It is lined by campgrounds, camps for kids and has facilities for various water sports.

It is home to the Bantam Lake Ski Club, the oldest, continuously operating water ski club in the United States, as well as the Litchfield Hills Rowing Club which offers Summer and Fall (high school) and Masters programs.