The Saugatuck Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, that straddles the border between the towns of Redding,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

, and Easton. Its completion is marked by the creation of the Samuel P. Senior dam of the Saugatuck River in January 1942, and provides water to several of the nearby towns. The reservoir is surrounded by the

Centennial Watershed State Forest Centennial Watershed State Forest is a Connecticut state forest of more than 15,000 acres with larger parcels located in the towns of Easton, Newtown, Redding, and Weston. Dozens of other properties are strung throughout much of Southwestern p ...

and a small section of the

Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve is a parcel owned by the state of Connecticut that is part of the larger Trout Brook Valley Preserve (also known as the Trout Brook Valley Conservation Area), located in Easton, Connecticut. The full conse ...

on the southeast end of the reservoir. The Saugatuck Reservoir utilizes an uncontrolled

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure t ...

adjacent to the Samuel P. Senior dam that effectively limits the maximum water level. There is also a concrete

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastl ...

positioned on the southeastern side of the reservoir that prevents water from flooding Trout Brook Valley. Bridgeport Hydraulic Company Holdings (now owned by Aquarion) flooded the Saugatuck River Valley after 1938, removing the villages of Hull and Valley Forge to create the Saugatuck Reservoir. Aquarion Water Co., owner of the reservoir and dam, allows

tailrace fishing Tailrace fishing is angling immediately below natural or man-made dams or restrictions to the flow of water on rivers, canals, streams or any other flowing current. Fishing in a tailrace requires a distinct set of skills in that lures or bait mu ...

in one area at the Weston end of the reservoir, where it has constructed a handicapped-access area. However, anglers must obtain a permit from Aquarion before fishing in the Saugatuck. The Saugatuck is the largest of the eight reservoirs that make up Aquarion’s greater Bridgeport water system. It holds about of water. The following fish species may be found within the Saugatuck Reservoir: :

American eel The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The Americ ...

: Bluegill (Sunfish) : Brook trout :

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

Bullhead catfish ''Ameiurus'' is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') ...

Chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

Crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomo ...

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, b ...

Pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus '' Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrar ...

(Sunfish) :

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

Rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fam ...

: Smallmouth bass :

Walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

White perch The white perch (''Morone americana'') is not a true perch but is a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America. In some places it is referred to as "Silver Bass". The name "White pe ...

Yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by S ...

References

External links

Saugatuck Reservoir Trail
Centennial Watershed, State Forest, Easton, Newtown, Redding, Weston - DEP {{authority control Redding, Connecticut Weston, Connecticut Reservoirs in Connecticut Lakes of Fairfield County, Connecticut Protected areas of Fairfield County, Connecticut