The Shepaug River is a 26 miles (41.8 km) river in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The river originates in Warren

Warren, Connecticut

Warren is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,254 at the 2000 census. The town was named for Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren....

 and runs south through Washington

Washington, Connecticut

Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,596 at the 2000 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civic and cultural life...

, Roxbury

Roxbury, Connecticut

Roxbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2000 census.-History:Roxbury, whose Indian name was "Shepaug", a Mahican name signifiying "rocky water", was settled about the year 1713...

, and Southbury

Southbury, Connecticut

Southbury is a town located in western New Haven County, Connecticut, USA. Southbury is located north of Oxford and Newtown; it also is east of Brookfield. Southbury's population was 18,567 at the 2000 census....

, where it empties into the Housatonic River

Housatonic River

The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...

 at Lake Lillinonah

Lake Lillinonah

Lake Lillinonah is located in Fairfield and Litchfield counties of western Connecticut, in the northeastern United States. It is the second largest lake in Connecticut, smaller only than Lake Candlewood. The lake is bordered by six towns: Brookfield, Bridgewater, Newtown, New Milford, Roxbury, and...

 (41.5102°N 73.3190°W), thereafter flowing into the Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

. The river's watershed area comprises approximately 150 square miles (388.5 km²), which encompasses the towns of Cornwall

Cornwall, Connecticut

Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...

, Goshen

Goshen, Connecticut

Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,697 at the 2000 census.Each July, the Connecticut Agricultural Fair is held in town. It is also home to the Goshen players.-Geography:...

, Torrington

Torrington, Connecticut

Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States. The city population was 36,383 according to the 2010 census....

, Warren, Litchfield

Litchfield, Connecticut

Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and is known as an affluent summer resort. The population was 8,316 at the 2000 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town...

, Washington, Morris

Morris, Connecticut

Morris is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,301 at the 2000 census. The town consists of rolling hill country surrounding Bantam Lake, the largest natural lake in the State, covering about .-History:...

, New Milford

New Milford, Connecticut

New Milford is a town in southern Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States north of Danbury, on the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly . The population was 28,671 according to the Census Bureau's 2006 estimates...

, Roxbury, Bridgewater

Bridgewater, Connecticut

Bridgewater is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,824 at the 2000 census. It is the only remaining dry town in Connecticut.-Geography:...

, and Southbury.

The vicinity of the Shepaug River has been inhabited by humans since around 4000 B.C., though according to archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

, 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, Connecticut

Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...

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