Thursday public forum will address Waterworks land use
December 8, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Trails at the Waterworks were closed to the public in September. Photo by Gordon Miller
Late this past summer, the commissioners of the Edward Farrar Utility District in Waterbury took action calling for the closure of trails in the section of Waterbury Center known as the Waterworks.
Access to the area is off of Barnes Hill Road near the Earle P. Towne Water Treatment Plant. The property covers nearly 500 undeveloped and largely forested acres, with about 50 acres in Waterbury and the rest on the Stowe side of the town boundary line.
During the summer, department staff discovered illegal trail-building activity on the property where trees were cut down in an effort to clear trails that local residents have been using for mountain biking and hiking, as well as winter skiing. The trail activity was not permitted by the utility district, which runs Waterbury’s municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities.
Although the land has historically been used for hunting and hiking, the spot’s popularity has grown in recent years with much more activity that has caused concerns about potential environmental impacts that would affect water quality.
The trail closure was met with some dissatisfaction from those seeking to use the property for recreation, while utility district officials discussed the need for review to determine what public uses of the land are appropriate given its primary function as a key source of the community’s water supply.
District officials promised to convene several public meetings to review the history and purpose of the Waterworks property, the role of the utility district in managing the land and to discuss the future of the area among those interested with input from with experts.
The public has been asked to refrain from using the Waterworks trails. Photo by Gordon Miller
“Today, a substantial amount of the water the watershed supplies is surface water, which is more economically treated and piped by gravity to the municipality than ground water, which requires pumping. The District Commissioners and staff approach decisions with respect to this land with a core belief: this source water must be protected to serve the District in perpetuity,” district officials explain in the notice announcing the forums.
The first of those public meetings is scheduled for this Thursday, Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Street fire station. The agenda for the meeting will be posted on the utility district’s webpage on the WaterburyVt.com website. The meeting will include an option to watch and participate remotely via Zoom with the meeting link information on the agenda.
The meeting format will include presentations about the Waterworks history and the functions of the municipal water department. The information is meant to inform both elected officials and the public with discussions helping to guide discussions to shape future public policy regarding the property. A facilitator will guide discussions following the presentations.
In addition to EFUD officials, the meeting will include the Deputy Director of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Drinking Water & Groundwater Protection Division and a Source Water Specialist with the Vermont Rural Water Association.
A new section on the EFUD webpage has been created as part of the process to explore the issue of managing the Waterworks land. The public notice announcing the forums can be found there.
Utility district officials also encourage anyone interested in the topic to submit questions ahead of Thursday’s meeting by email to waterworks@waterburyvt.com.
A second public meeting on the topic is scheduled for Jan. 15 to look at other water systems in the region and state that have dealt with similar land-use challenges.