In Pursuit
of Six Lakes
(2025)
Six Facts about
Six Lakes Fact Sheet
(2022)
Yale Forestry School
Conclusions
(2003-2004)
Yale Forestry School
Biophysical Characteristics
(2003-2004)
What is the vision of the Six Lakes Park Coalition for a park at Six Lakes?
- Our vision comes from the community. In 2024, we led an extensive community dialogue that landed on three primary visions for Six Lakes: “passive recreation” in a relatively undisturbed natural environment; space for nature education for people of all ages; and a place that serves as a physical connector among neighborhoods. This vision is shared by the Town of Hamden, which is a member of the Six Lakes Park Coalition. SLPC seeks both to ensure thorough remediation of site contaminants and to align the property’s eventual use with the needs and interests of the Newhall neighborhood and the wider Hamden community.
We already have parks in Hamden. Why do we need to add this one?
- Six Lakes is special, in part, because of its location. Tucked behind the Putnam Plaza, it is a stunning natural space in an urban center, bordered by the Farmington Canal Rail Trail. Preserving this property as public open space is an opportunity to invest in the health and wellbeing of the Newhall neighborhood, in which the Town of Hamden has historically underinvested, as well as create new opportunities for everyone to enjoy natural spaces.
Who is involved in the effort to create a park at Six Lakes?
- Residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the property and many other people and organizations are involved in different ways, and new people and organizations continue to join in this effort. You can find the members of the Six Lakes Park Coalition and the steering committee members here. In addition to coalition and steering committee members, those working on creating a park at Six Lakes include volunteers, experts and advocates lending their expertise to our five work groups; Hamden town leaders; our local, state, and federal elected officials; and other organizations with specific expertise including the Yale Environmental Justice Law & Advocacy Clinic, faculty from Yale School of the Environment, the Trust for Public Land, and others. We invite you to get involved, too! Sign up for Six Lakes news here and volunteer opportunities here.
What kind of contamination has been found on the site? Are you sure it will be safe for people to go there?
- Contamination left by the site’s years of industrial use as a gunpowder storage and munitions testing facility and later as a place for burying and burning industrial waste includes metals, volatile organic compounds, PCBs, and more. The site has been owned for nearly a century by the Olin Corporation, which has sole legal responsibility for cleaning it up to current regulatory standards. Olin is still testing the soil, groundwater, and surface water on the site in preparation for creating a cleanup plan. To keep up with the latest news on testing and remediation, subscribe to our newsletter.
Who’s responsible for cleaning up the land so it can become a park?
- The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is responsible for ensuring that Olin cleans up the property to current environmental safety standards. Olin initiated some cleanup under state supervision in the 1980s, but significant work is still needed before the site can be safely used as a public park. In recent decades, Olin has also cleaned up industrial pollution it left in the residential portion of Newhall, but that neighborhood continues to suffer from sinking foundations and the unsightly and unsafe former Hamden Middle School building, which was abandoned due to contamination in the early 2000s.
Why is it taking so long?
- Our question exactly! Unfortunately, DEEP was absent from this project for years, even decades, at a time. Due to the advocacy of the newly formed Six Lakes Park Coalition back in 2021, the state returned to enforcement of the 1986 consent order they have with Olin that requires Olin to finish cleaning up its mess. However, Olin has frequently asked for–and been granted–extensions and has been allowed to set its own unnecessarily long schedule. Currently, testing and remediation aren’t scheduled to be completed until 2034. We continue to advocate for thorough and expeditious completion of this project.
Hamden’s taxes are already high. Isn’t this going to cost a lot of money?
- Yes, most likely in the range of several million dollars, but that burden should not be held by Hamden taxpayers. First, Olin is legally required to pay for the cleanup to DEEP’s environmental standards. Our intent is to secure a combination of state and federal funding and private donations to negotiate conversion of the cleaned-up land into a public park and operate it into the future. We’re still exploring numerous possibilities.
What is the Six Lakes Park Coalition doing to help turn Six Lakes into a public park?
- Our professional and volunteer leaders–both experts and local residents (and sometimes both!)–are working on breaking down the barriers, finding the funding, bringing together the stakeholders, activating the community, listening to creative ideas, spreading the word about Six Lakes, and more. With more than 1,200 supporters and dozens of active volunteers as of 2026, we have momentum, and we’re confident we will get this project to the finish line!
How can I get involved?
- One of our primary goals is to ensure that neighbors of Six Lakes, particularly Newhall residents who have been deeply impacted by the pollution of their neighborhood, are in the forefront of plans for Six Lakes Park. We invite you to join us by signing up for our communications and attending our events.
