Pequonnock River Initiative (PRI)

During the summer of 2010 the Pequonnock River Initiative (PRI) was formed as a partnership between the City of Bridgeport and the towns of Monroe and Trumbull to develop a watershed plan for the Pequonnock River watershed. The City of Bridgeport, through a Section 319 grant from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP), retained Fuss & O'Neill, Inc. to perform the technical components of the watershed plan development. The CTDEP also awarded a Section 604(b) grant of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Inc. and the Southwest Conservation District. Save the Sound is responsible for the formation of a watershed coalition, organizing workshop meetings, assisting in the development of the watershed plan recommendations, and performing public education and outreach. Additionally, Harbor Watch/River Watch, a program of Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center at Westport, received 319 funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act to perform water quality monitoring of the Pequonnock River for the years 2009 and 2010. The monitoring data will be used to assess current water quality conditions in the Pequonnock River and ultimately guide the watershed plan recommendations.

The Monroe Conservation and Water Resources Commission conducts research into the utilization and possible utilization of open space, develops, conserves, supervises and regulates natural resources, including water resources, within the Town of Monroe.