The Shepaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 river in western

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, in the

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 ...

. The river originates at the south end of the Shepaug Reservoir in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

of Warren. The reservoir is fed at its northern end by the West Branch Shepaug River and East Branch Shepaug River. The Shepaug runs south through

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

, and

Southbury Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, ...

, where it joins the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

Lake Lillinonah Lake Lillinonah is a manmade lake located in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties of Western Connecticut, approximately northeast of New York City. It is the second largest lake in Connecticut, smaller only than Candlewood Lake. The ...

() dammed by the hydroelectric

Shepaug Dam Shepaug Dam (National ID # CT00232) is a dam located between Newtown in Fairfield County and Southbury in New Haven County, Connecticut. The concrete dam was constructed in 1955 by the Connecticut Light and Power Company, with a height of 14 ...

. The river's watershed area comprises approximately , which encompasses the towns of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, Goshen, Torrington, Warren, Litchfield, Washington, Morris, New Milford, Roxbury, Bridgewater, and Southbury. The vicinity of the Shepaug River has been inhabited by humans since around

4000 B.C. The 4th millennium BC spanned the years 4000 BC to 3001 BC. Some of the major changes in human culture during this time included the beginning of the Bronze Age and the invention of writing, which played a major role in starting recorded history. ...

, though according to

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

, there was a decline in population around 1000 B.C. The river is a primary source of drinking water for the city of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

, and has been the subject of regional litigation over how much water may be removed from the river.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Litchfield County, Connecticut Rivers of Connecticut Connecticut placenames of Native American origin Tributaries of Housatonic River