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Potential Development on "Big Spring Lot"
By Kathy Clark, Collinsville
Tucked away on hill about a half a block up from the Farmington River in Collinsville is a piece of property that, to an outsider, might look like a great place to build a house. But, to those familiar with Collinsville, this piece of property is known as the "Big Spring Lot"—probably the most environmentally valuable piece of property in all of Canton.
The Big Spring Lot has at least four natural springs. Some of these springs flow into cisterns that are covered by historic spring houses. The water, even in this cold weather, continually runs down the hill and into the Farmington River. As its neighbors will tell you, this is some of the purest water in Connecticut. One of these springs is the only source of drinking water for one of the houses down the hill. This parcel is under a purchase and sale contract (the sale may have even closed by now) to someone who intends to build a house and a garage on this lot and potentially destroy these natural springs.
This property borders High Street, East Street and Johnson Place in Collinsville's historic district. It was a remote parcel of land that belonged to the Collins Axe Factory. The village of Collinsville sprung up around the factory and the Spring Lot in the 1800s. These springs provided water to the factory and to the homes in town. Water was collected in the cisterns, and pipes ran from the property down the hill and into town.
A good portion of the property is wet from the springs and other seasonal streams. The streams provide a cold water source to the Farmington River. It is a wonderful habitat for birds and other small wildlife. According to some longtime village residents, these springs also supplied drinking water to people in the area during the 1955 flood and, if needed in the event of a disaster, could supply drinking water today.
The Canton Inlands Wetlands and Watercourses Agency had before them two applications, one to fill in a cistern on the Spring Lot, the other to build a house and garage. At the last meeting, the applicant's attorney withdrew the applications and said they will be resubmitted at the next Wetlands Agency meeting. The applicants and their attorney have stated that any construction on this parcel is not a significant activity. How can anyone say that the potential of polluting another family's only water supply is not a significant activity?
The next Canton Inlands Wetlands and Watercourses Agency meeting will be held on Thursday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Canton Community Center on Dyer Ave. in Canton. Please attend if you don't want to see this historic resource and unique ecosystem destroyed. I hope that the Canton Wetlands and Watercourses Agency will see that protecting these valuable fresh water sources is the right thing to do.
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