See full Data Guide here. Surface Water Quality Classifications Set:

This dataset is a line and a polygon feature-based layer compiled at 1:24,000 scale that includes water quality classification information for surface waters for all areas of the State of Connecticut. The Surface Water Quality Classifications and the Ground Water Quality Classifications are usually presented together as a depiction of water quality classifications in Connecticut. Water Quality Classifications, based on the adopted Water Quality Standards, establish designated uses for surface and ground waters and identify the criteria necessary to support those uses. This edition of the Surface Water Quality Classifications is based on the Water Quality Standards adopted on February 25, 2011. Surface Water means the waters of Long Island Sound, its harbors, embayments, tidal wetlands and creeks; rivers and streams, brooks, waterways, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, bogs, federal jurisdictional wetlands, and other natural or artificial, public or private, vernal or intermittent bodies of water, excluding groundwater. The surface waters includes the coastal waters as defined by Section 22a-93 of the Connecticut General Statutes and means those waters of Long Island Sound and its harbors, embayments, tidal rivers, streams and creeks, which contain a salinity concentration of at least five hundred parts per million under the low flow stream conditions as established by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. The Surface Water Quality Classes are AA, A, B, SA and SB. All surface waters not otherwise classified are considered as Class A if they are in Class GA Ground Water Quality Classifications areas. Class AA designated uses are: existing or proposed drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational use (maybe restricted), agricultural and industrial supply. Class A designated uses are: potential drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational use, agricultural and industrial supply. Class B designated uses are: fish and wildlife habitat, recreational use, agricultural and industrial supply and other legitimate uses including navigation. Class B* surface water is a subset of Class B waters and is identical in all ways to the designated uses, criteria and standards for Class B waters except for the restriction on direct discharges. Coastal water and marine classifications are SA and SB. Class SA designated uses are: marine fish, shellfish and wildlife habitat, shellfish harvesting for direct human consumption, recreation and other legitimate uses including navigation. Class SB designated uses are: marine fish, shellfish and wildlife habitat, shellfish harvesting for transfer to approved areas for purification prior to human consumption, recreation and other legitimate uses including navigation. There are three elements that make up the Water Quality Standards which is an important element in Connecticut's clean water program. The first of these is the Standards themselves. The Standards set an overall policy for management of water quality in accordance with the directive of Section 22a-426 of the Connecticut General Statutes. The policies can be simply summarized by saying that the Department of Environmental Protection shall: Protect surface and ground waters from degradation, Segregate waters used for drinking from those that play a role in waste assimilation, Restore surface waters that have been used for waste assimilation to conditions suitable for fishing and swimming, Restore degraded ground water to protect existing and designated uses, Provide a framework for establishing priorities for pollution abatement and State funding for clean up, Adopt standards that promote the State's economy in harmony with the environment. The second element is the Criteria, the descriptive and numerical standards th