New Milford Clean Water Coalition Chapter
Our Mission
Protecting New Milford’s drinking water, public health, and environment through education, advocacy, and community engagement — from watershed to tap.
New Milford Clean Water Coalition
Century Brass- New Proposed DPW Facility
New Milford Clean Water Coalition was paramount in oppossing nd pausing the Flatiron Energy TreeBeard LLC Battery Storage facility.
THE ISSUE
The Town of New Milford is proposing to relocate its Department of Public Works (DPW) and related industrial operations to the Century Brass site—land that sits over a state-protected aquifer and is directly connected to a Class A watershed, one of the highest levels of drinking water protection.
This is not just another development decision. This is about our primary drinking water source—shared by New Milford, Brookfield, and Newtown.
A CRITICAL AND SENSITIVE LOCATION
The Century Brass site lies within a hydrologically connected system that includes aquifers, wetlands, and waterways that ultimately supply drinking water to our community. According to the Town’s own Hazard Mitigation Plan, New Milford remains highly vulnerable to flooding, particularly along the Housatonic River and connected tributaries such as the Aspetuck Rivers.
These natural systems are interconnected. Anything introduced at this site has the potential to move through groundwater and surface water systems.
FLOOD PROTECTION CONSIDERATIONS
Significant resources have already been invested to remediate this site and protect water quality.
Any future use must:
• Prevent recontamination • Account for periodic flooding • Avoid activities that could mobilize pollutants
AN INDUSTRIAL USE ON A SENSITIVE RESOURCE
The proposed DPW complex is not a passive use. It includes:
• Fuel storage and fueling operations • Vehicle maintenance and wash facilities • Salt storage and road treatment materials • Recycling and waste handling • Heavy equipment operations
These are ongoing, high-impact activities with known risks to groundwater and surface water.
A CONTRADICTION THAT UNDERMINES PROTECTION
The community recently came together to stop the Flatiron battery storage project in order to protect this very same aquifer and watershed. Now, the Town is proposing an industrial municipal complex on that same land.
This raises a fundamental question:
If this land is too sensitive for one high-risk use, how can it now be considered appropriate for another? Approving this project undermines the very standard used to protect our water and opens the door for similar projects to return.
BETTER ALTERNATIVES EXIST
Regional planning guidance matters.
The Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WESTCOG) emphasizes the importance of careful siting of industrial and critical facilities—particularly with respect to environmental sensitivity, flood risk, and infrastructure resilience.
The Town’s own planning documents also support relocating critical facilities out of vulnerable areas—not into them.
Safer, more appropriate alternative locations exist and must be fully evaluated.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This is the wrong use in the wrong place:
• A state-protected aquifer • A connected watershed • A site with documented environmental history • A location already deemed too sensitive for similar risk Once contamination occurs, there is no reversing it.
OUR POSITION
We support the Department of Public Works. We do not support placing it on our drinking water supply.
CALL TO ACTION
We urge the Town of New Milford to: • Halt plans to relocate the DPW to the Century Brass site • Identify and evaluate safer alternative locations • Prioritize long-term protection of our drinking water
Protect our water. Protect our future
Bess/Flatiron Paused Project
Our team of experts was paramount in rallying community support raising awareness about the proposed Flatiron Energy Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in New Milford near the Century Brass/Aspetuck Ridge area, where a large-scale lithium battery facility has been proposed on or near residentially zoned land that sits over a state-protected aquifer and is directly connected to a Class A watershed that supports regional drinking water supplies; the Coalition has joined residents in calling for a pause in the project to ensure full environmental and water resource review, and reports indicate the developer has paused its application process to continue engagement with the community. We are not against clean energy, but we are opposed to siting large industrial energy infrastructure over aquifers, within residential zones, or in areas that drain into Class A watersheds—because protecting potable water from watershed to tap must remain the priority in every development decision.
Protecting Our Water, Preserving Our Future in New Milford
The New Milford Clean Water Coalition works to protect New Milford’s waterways from pollution that threatens drinking water, ecosystems, and public health. This includes addressing contaminants such as PFAS (“forever chemicals”), which persist in the environment and can accumulate in groundwater and drinking water supplies, as well as reducing pollution from stormwater runoff that carries oil, chemicals, sediment, and other pollutants from roads, development, and industrial sites into rivers, wetlands, and aquifers. The Coalition also works to protect wetlands and promote education about their critical role in filtering pollution, reducing flooding, recharging groundwater, and supporting biodiversity. By advancing stronger protections, improving stormwater management, and promoting responsible land use, the New Milford Clean Water Coalition focuses on safeguarding clean waterways and ensuring safe, reliable potable water from watershed to tap for the New Milford community.