Naugatuck River Greenway Video Transcript Produced by Lisa Simmons, Fingerpost Productions
0:00 Music intro
0:29 Narrator:
Naugatuck River Greenway - Americaís Great Outdoors
0:37 News Reporter:
It is not recommended that one drink, bathe, fish, or even fall in these waters by accident.
The results could be physically dangerous.
0:46 Bicyclist:
When I was a teenager many, many years ago, we wanted nothing to do with the Naugatuck
River, just because of the smell.
0:54 Kevin Zak:
This river was not only so polluted but it was also dangerous to come down to because
of industrial debris, broken glass, needles.
1:05 Jeremy Rodrigo:
When I was a kid we werenít allowed to go into the river. It was dirty. It often times
changed colors, from the different chemicals that were being put into it.
1:12 Steve Gephard:
In the 1950ís, the Connecticut Department of Public Health did a survey of this river
and couldnít find any living organism in the river. Between the sewage and the industrial
waste, this river was dead!
1:26 Jack Walsh:
And then that was capped off by a horrible flood here that we had in 1955.
1:31 Bob Gregorski:
Particularly with the ë55 flood, all the riparian habitat was destroyed. And of course
the river was so polluted there was no wildlife here!
1:38 Jack Walsh:
After the flood subsided, people decided what they needed was protection from the river.
They didnít look at it as a resource and the flood control walls were built. And once
those walls were completed, the river disappeared!
1:57 Narrator:
Perhaps no river tells a greater story of restoration than the Naugatuck River. Visionary
people in the Naugatuck Valley refused to let the river die. Because of their efforts,
the Naugatuck River has been reborn.
2:12 Bob Gregorski:
We started with the Naugatuck Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited in 1984. It was one of
the worst polluted rivers in the United States and nobody was paying any attention to it,
so we worked closely with the DEP. And then in about 1992 the Northwestern Chapter of
Trout Unlimited, they started working on the northern half.
The state said ìWe will not stock state fish in the river but if you wish to buy the fish
yourself and stock themî and we said ìYes.î We figured if one-tenth of the fish survived,
they would be some of the hardiest fish ever.
And then we had the Naugatuck River Watershed calling more attention to the river. So between
the three groups weíve had 120 different conservation projects and in more recent years
there have been other groups and people coming along.
2:56 Kevin Zak:
I stopped fishing 7 years ago. I was fly fishing right here and I kept on getting caught on
shopping carts. And I said ìThatís done! Iím not going to touch the fly rod until
these things are gone.î
So I went to the City of Waterbury and said ìIf we gather all the debris from the river,
you wonít have to do anything, other than take it away.î Thereís nothing we havenít
pulled out of this river, including the kitchen sink.
3:21 Steve Gephard:
Sewage treatment plants have been built and upgraded, and now weíve achieved water quality
standards. Weíve got fish coming back, there are no more fish kills. It doesnít smell
anymore. And with this renewed water quality in the river comes an opportunity to restore
runs of native species of migratory fishÖ. lots of fish that are coming up from the ocean
and they need to spawn in our rivers.
3:51 Narrator:
Working with power companies and municipalities, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection built fish ladders and removed seven dams along the Naugatuck, opening more
than 26 miles of fish habitat.
4:07 Bob Gregorski:
Going from zero species of fish, we have 42 species of fish in this river system at this
particular point in time.
4:15 Steve Gephard:
By bringing the fish back we also bring back Osprey and eagles and Black Crown Night Herons.
4:22 Kevin Zak:
This river intrinsically is so beautiful...the wildlifeÖfrom Great Blue Herons, Black Crown
Night Herons, Little Green Herons.
4:32 Steve Gephard:
All of this is watchable. We had a public meeting last night and the public was just
standing up cheering, telling us how much this river has changed, how great it is to
see the wildlife.
4:44 Narrator:
As water quality improved, people began to envision parks, trails and boat launches linking
the riverside communities: a lateral greenway that would protect the river and create access
for people.
5:01 John Monroe:
I like the surprises that you find when you get out of the car, you walk down the bank,
you stand by the river and you realize what a beautiful place this is. Itís as beautiful
as any river in Vermont, or Colorado, where we think, ìOh, those are the places that
you have to go to find beautiful rivers.î In fact theyíre right here. We have beautiful
places to go in our back yard.
Right now itís a little hard to find and thatís the purpose of a greenway is to make
it easy for people to find and enjoy and protect the river thatís close to home.
5:34 Tomasz Kalinowski:
A lot of people donít know that this actually exists, a lot of people donít know the beauty
of Torrington and what we hold and what there is. And so our mission I think is to try to
get people informed and get them to know that this does exist and this is here for recreation
and walking.
5:41 Chris Beyus:
I like to be able to see the Naugatuck you know like all different parts like the branch
over here where thereís kind of like a waterfall. Itís just cool you know. Itís really nice
that we have this here. You know a lot of towns donít have a river like this running
through it and the opportunities that a river like this has for the community.
6:08 John Monroe:
If we have to build it a quarter of a mile at a time or a few hundred yards at a time,
thatís the way weíll do it. So it will be years before itís completely done, but thereís
lots of it you can enjoy right now.
6:19 Elaine La Bella:
The Naugatuck River communities have been looking at greenway opportunities for more
than 15 years now. We share our vision for greenways looking for opportunities to link
already protected open space and look for opportunities to protect additional river
front. But the towns are the drivers.
The communities in the Naugatuck River valley I think are unique because they already work
together and I think the Greenway will be just one more way to link the towns, bring
people back to the river.
6:54 Narrator:
Each town creates its own vision of a greenway trail, sometimes combining historical sites
with natural trails.
7:02 Peter Kisselburgh:
This river was kind of a Silicon Valley 120 years ago. There was a lot of production here.
They were making the goods that were going across the country with the settlers. And
thatís part of the heritage thatís here in this valley.
Our townís named after Seth Thomas. They did great things with clocks. Weíve set up
an area called The Clock Walk, downtown, which is a one-mile loop around town, thatís on
the side walks and showcases the history of the town.
So not only do you have the nature for cycling but you also have a connection to a past and
I think itís very important to people and you can bring that connection to people through
the greenway.
7:50 Tony San Angelo:
We wanted access to the river and applied for a small grant to have a timber stair case
to the river and it became an exciting project. We formed Citizens for Tomorrowís Downtown,
applying for grants, getting donations from local contractors, for the bricks, for this.
People were volunteering on weekends to build the stair case.
8:16 Gerald F. Smith:
Well it transformed Main Street, which was a two-lane highway, on both sides north and
southbound, into more of a quaint New England village with lampposts, a walkway, the trees,
the green. It made it a nice place for families to come and walk downtown and hopefully go
in to visit some of the shops that are here. Make it more friendly for foot traffic.
8:36 Dave Faber:
Once people started coming down here, realizing how beautiful it is. You forget the past of
this river and you see how really nice it is now.
And I meant itís quite a spectacle. If youíre walking up and down a greenway path or jogging
or riding your bike and youíre riding along side of kayakers who are out there kayaking.
Theyíre a guaranteed magnet to get people down to the river. And getting the public
down to appreciate it will do big things for the river.
8:59 John Monroe:
Thereís not one idea about what this Greenway should be. Itís certainly not the National
Park Service telling anybody what it should be. Each town knows where the trails are,
knows how they would like to use them. So it will be a town by town basis.
9:14 Narrator:
Waterburyís urban landscape poses unique challenges to designing a greenway.
9:20 Kathy McNamara:
You know with an old mill city the banks of the river are usually built up. Thereís not
a lot of space left. So itís been said that this greenway segment through the City of
Waterbury is one of the most challenging greenway segments ever. There are places that we have
no slope to the river and weíll be cantilevering out and doing all kinds of great engineering
things to make sure we get that path in. So itís a challenge phase by phase to get the
7 miles done.
Even though Waterburyís name is Waterbury because of our links to the Naugatuck, the
river has been pretty much closed off to the residents of Waterbury. There are few places
in the City where we can actually get to the river. So this Greenway connects people back
to their heritage, back to our namesake really. And that to me is perhaps the most exciting.
Itís really a gift back to the people.
10:11 Jack Walsh:
All of a sudden people where back on top of the flood-control wall, except it was no longer
a flood-control wall. Instead of being a barrier to the river, all of a sudden people were
up on top looking down and seeing a river that wasnít polluted anymore, that had now
become a natural resource once again.
10:31 Alan Mogridge:
The Greenway definitely supports healthy living, here in the Valley. With so many people pre-diabetic
today, millions of people pre-diabetic in our country, youth obesity is an issue. Itís
an absolutely wonderful place to be able to expand our programming and get the community
healthy, get the community active. Itís a wonderful asset for us.
Well Iím just excited to see the Greenways connect from Torrington down to Derby the
best that we can so that people can take off on full-day excursions and enjoy it safely.
10:59 Jack Walsh:
I think weíre fortunate in Derby. We took the brunt of the flood and everything else
but we were the first ones I think to capitalize on what this could become. And I think Derby
is the model right now for what everybody can do with this.
11:14 John Monroe:
Explore the Naugatuck is an event. Letís ride the Greenway, 56 miles in one day for
the cyclists, 12 press events, pull all the partners together and celebrate what we have
and envision what we see happening in the future.
11:35 Bob Gregorski:
Weíve come along way and if we work together Öwe can have something that all generations
can use in perpetuity.
11:42 Rosa DeLauro:
There will be public areas, boat launches, places for art. And all kinds of efforts to
have people take advantage of what this means to live in this community and be close to
a river.
11:56 Jack Walsh:
I think this is one of the greatest environmental clean-up stories in the entire country. And
it took the Greenway to get people to realize what has taken place here. And I think this
bike ride is a symbol of what is eventually going to happen all up and down this river.
12:14 Elaine LaBella:
Itís wonderful to recognize this beautiful Naugatuck River Valley. Itís a gem!
12:18 Bob Gregorski:
Oliver Wendell Holmes said ìItís more than an amenity, itís a treasure.î And we should
treasure it.
12:25 Narrator
Ride, walk, kayak, explore and celebrate the Naugatuck River Greenway! To learn where and
how to help complete the Naugatuck River Greenway, please visit NaugatuckRiver.net for more information
and free maps.