Fairfield County, Connecticut, attempts to put a rein on horse-related soil and water conservation problems
Excerpt
FAIRFIELD County, Connecticut, located 40 miles northeast of New York City, is a diverse mix of urban, suburban, and rural settings, with a population of about 900,000. Fairfield County is also home to between 8,000 and 10,000 horses, most of which are maintained in residential and residential-rural areas by affluent residents for commercial, club, and personal use. (Horse fanciers in Connecticut claim there are about 65,000 horses in the state. That is 13 per square mile, the highest density in the U.S.)
The county's high horse population creates important land and water concerns, not the least of which is the fact that almost a third of the county is public water supply watershed land. Two horse-related problems pose a water quality threat: horse manure storage and disposal and erosion and sedimentation from horse sites.
A first step
In 1979, the Fairfield County Conservation District began taking an active role in promoting good horse site management. Meetings were held with members of horse owners' associations, Soil Conservation Service personnel, public water supply officials, and others to discuss the environmental impact of horses in the county.
Section 208 of the Federal Water …
Footnotes
Karl Decker, 692 Elm Street, Monroe, Connecticut 06468, is a supervisor in the Fairfield County Conservation District.
- Copyright 1983 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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