General Use Guidelines

With Aquarion’s long-term commitment to the environment and its desire to allow the public to use our vast land holding for recreational purposes, we offer opportunities for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and birding on select Aquarion property.

These opportunities continued and expanded with a partnership that began in 2002 among Aquarion, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and The Nature Conservancy. Together, we agreed to conserve 15,300 acres of forest near Aquarion reservoirs as a way to preserve open space, safeguard ecosystems, protect water supplies, and provide for public use consistent with those goals.  Two years later, Governor Jodi Rell dedicated this land as the Centennial Watershed State Forest under the management of the three partners.

Through Aquarion’s “Be Our Guest” program, we welcome the public to the Centennial Watershed State Forest and the many recreational opportunities it offers. Our trail-use permit allows access to 17 miles of scenic trails, while our fishing permit provides access to fishing at Saugatuck, West Pequonnock, and Far Mill reservoirs.

The rules governing the use of Aquarion lands are essential to protecting the purity of our water, public health and safety, and the environment in general. General guidelines are given below; for specific rules covering trail use, click here. For specific rules governing fishing, click here. Or see the full set of rules for Aquarion lands in our “Be Our Guest” brochure.

General Rules

• Swimming, wading, camping, alcoholic beverages, smoking, campfires, picnicking, littering, radios, boom boxes, motors, and vendors are prohibited.
• Vehicles of any kind, including all types of cycles, are prohibited.
• Pets or horses are prohibited.
• Please stay in designated fishing areas along the shoreline or on the blazed hiking trails.
• Do not pick or remove wildflowers or plants, or otherwise disturb the vegetation.
• Park in designated locations to access the Saugatuck Valley Trail and Aspetuck Valley Trail.
• Stay off the ice; the law prohibits trespassing on a frozen reservoir.