A lake's watershed is the area surrounding it within which all rainwater, snow melt and groundwater drains towards the lake.
To give you an idea of how large of an area we are talking about for Candlewood, the watershed of Candlewood Lake is roughly five times the size of the Lake. That's not
a very large watershed, but keep in mind that Candlewood's other source of water is the pumpup from the Housatonic River.
The Candlewood Lake Authority knows that a lake's watershed has a direct impact on the quality of water found in that lake. As a watershed becomes more developed, and
less naturally wooded, the quality of the water flowing off of impervious surfaces and into the storm drains and into the streams etc. that feed the lake, declines. More
road pollutants, automotive fluids, lawn chemicals, fertilizers etc. are picked up by the rain and end up in the lake.
Working to keep the impact that increased development has on the watershed to a minimum helps to minimize the impact on Candlewood Lake.
