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Wetlands agency approves home and 0.2-acre pond at 41 East Road
Summary
The Inland Wetlands Agency unanimously approved IWWA1-2026 to build a single-family home with septic and a roughly 0.2-acre pond at 41 East Road. Staff memos and a wetland-line review supported the plan; the pond will be groundwater-fed and not hydraulically connected to Broad Brook.
The Inland Wetlands Agency unanimously approved an application to build a single-family home with an on-site septic system and a small pond at 41 East Road.
Jr. Russo, the applicants’ representative, told the Agency the project includes construction of a house in an upland review area and creation of a roughly 0.2-acre pond within the mapped wetlands. He said the pond is intended to be a quiet-water habitat, fed by a shallow groundwater table rather than a direct connection to Broad Brook, and estimated the pond would be about 8 feet deep. "This one's about 8 ft," Russo said during the presentation.
The file includes a memorandum from the sanitary district (North Central) noting approval of the septic design and a separate review by wetlands reviewer Rick Zulic, who reviewed the wetland line and recommended shelf areas along pond edges to encourage aquatic vegetation. Zulic’s memo concluded that while the pond causes some limited wetland disturbance, it also creates aquatic habitat not currently present on the property.
During the Agency’s discussion members noted sediment-control measures and standard permit conditions. Agency staff told members that sediment barriers recommended by staff would be required during construction in the small area of wetland disturbance. One commissioner moved to approve the application "with standard conditions for regulated activities associated with the construction of a single-family home with a septic system located within the upland review area and the creation of a pond within the wetlands at 41 East Road." The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous vote.
The Agency recorded that the pond will not be hydraulically connected to Broad Brook and that the project will include sediment controls during construction. The approval was entered with standard conditions; the applicants must meet the conditions in the memos and agency checklist before final sign-off.
The Agency did not note any outstanding appeals or enforcement actions related to this property; staff said any remaining administrative approvals (for example, final health department sign-off on the septic) must be completed before agent sign-off.
