| | Sound Health 2008: {Watersheds} A watershed is the area of land that drains into a particular body of water. The Sound’s 16,000 square-mile watershed includes many major drainage basins (or subwatersheds) and hundreds of local watersheds whose tributaries feed into the major drainage basins and eventually to the Sound. 
Connecticut Watersheds l New York Watersheds
Western Connecticut:
Housatonic River Watershed. The Housatonic River flows 149 miles from its four sources in western Massachusetts. The watershed covers 1,948 square miles as the river passes through western portions of Massachusetts and Connecticut before reaching its destination at Long Island Sound at Milford Point. Learn more about the Housatonic Valley Association and the Housatonic River Initiative .
Naugatuck River Watershed. This watershed covers 311 square miles, containing the towns of Norfolk, Winchester, Goshen, Torrington, New Hartford, Litchfield, Harwinton, Plymouth, Thomaston, Morris, Watertown, Bristol, Wolcott, Waterbury, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Woodbridge, Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby. For more information, visit the Naugatuck River Watershed Association or the Northwest Conservation District websites.
Shepaug River Watershed. The Connecticut towns of Cornwall, Goshen, Torrington, Warren, Litchfield, Washington, Morris, New Milford, Roxbury, Bridgewater, and Southbury comprise this watershed that stretches over 155 square miles. Learn more about the Shepaug River.
Central Connecticut:
Connecticut River watershed. The 410 mile-long Connecticut River is New England's longest river. It has 38 major tributaries, 26 of which drain 100 square miles or more. Its watershed encompasses over 11,000 square miles of wild, rural and urban lands in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. For more on the Connecticut River, visit the CT River Watershed Council’s website.
Farmington River Watershed. This watershed is 607 square miles (451 of which are in CT) and contains the towns of Avon, Barkhamsted, Bloomfield, Bristol, Burlington, Canton, Colebrook, East Granby, Farmington, Granby, Hartland, New Hartford, Suffield, Simsbury, West Hartford, Windsor, and Windsor Locks. Learn about the Farmington River Coordinating Committee and the Farmington River Watershed Association or read this watershed’s Management Plan.
Naugatuck River Watershed. This watershed covers 311 square miles, containing the towns of Norfolk, Winchester, Goshen, Torrington, New Hartford, Litchfield, Harwinton, Plymouth, Thomaston, Morris, Watertown, Bristol, Wolcott, Waterbury, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Woodbridge, Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby. For more information, visit the Naugatuck River Watershed Association or the Northwest Conservation District websites.
Scantic River Watershed. This watershed extends over 114 square miles, 83 of which are in Connecticut and include the towns of Somers, East Windsor, Enfield, Stafford, South Windsor, and Ellington. Learn more about the Scantic River Watershed and the North Central Conservation District’s watershed projects.
Quinnipiac River Watershed. This watershed stretches throughout 166 square miles, through the towns of Bristol, Cheshire, East Haven, Farmington, Hamden, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, North Haven, Plainville, Southington, and Wallingford. Learn more about the Quinnipiac River and the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association.
Eastern Connecticut:
Connecticut River watershed. The 410 mile-long Connecticut River is New England's longest river. It has 38 major tributaries, 26 of which drain 100 square miles or more. Its watershed encompasses over 11,000 square miles of wild, rural and urban lands in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. For more on the Connecticut River, visit the CT River Watershed Council’s website.
Pawcatuck River Watershed. This watershed stretches over 216 square miles (55 of which are within CT), containing the towns of Sterling, Voluntown, North Stonington, Stonington. Learn more about the Pawcatuck River Watershed and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association.
Quinebaug River Watershed. Stretching for almost 400 square miles (251 of which is in CT), this watershed encompasses the towns of Woodstock, Thompson, Putnam, Pomfret, Eastford, Brooklyn, Killingly, Hampton, Canterbury, Plainfield, Griswold, Lisbon, Preston, and North Stonington. To learn more about this watershed, visit the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor website.
Salmon River Watershed. This watershed extends through the towns of Bolton, Hebron, Columbia, Lebanon, Colchester, East Haddam, Haddam, East Hampton, Marlborough, Glastonbury, covering 149 square miles in Connecticut. Learn more about the Connecticut River Watch Program and read the Management Plan.
Shetucket River Watershed. This watershed is 125 square miles large and includes the towns of Preston, Lisbon, Sprague, Norwich, Franklin, Lebanon, Windham, Scotland, Canterbury, Hampton, Chaplin, Pomfret, and Eastford. Learn more about the Shetucket River Valley and the Last Green Valley.
Thames River Watershed. The Thames River flows south for 15 miles through eastern Connecticut from the junction of the Yantic and Shetucket Rivers at Norwich, to New London and Groton, eventually reaching Long Island Sound. Learn more about the Thames River Basin Partnership.
Willimantic River Watershed. This watershed extends through the towns of Stafford, Union, Willington, Mansfield, Windham, Lebanon, Columbia, Hebron, Andover, Coventry, Bolton, Tolland, and Ellington, stretching over 219 square miles in Connecticut (226 square miles total). Learn more about the Willimantic River Alliance. Smaller watersheds in Connecticut l Connecticut Watersheds New York Watersheds
Suffolk County North Shore Embayments: Includes the North Shore of Suffolk County which stretches over 179 square miles. Visit Suffolk County’s website for more information. Smaller watersheds in New York l  Back to top |
