Noise and noise complaints are issues every year on Candlewood Lake. To some, it may be a simple discussion, but it's a more complicated issue than you may realize.

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What is or is not too loud is subjective. What I think is noise pollution and what you believe is are going to be very different answers.

Second, there are a ton of agencies with some interest in Lake matters. There are four towns and one city that have shores on Candlewood Lake and the Lake spans two counties in CT.

The Lake and its islands are owned by the corporation First Light, you have the Candlewood Lake Authority and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). 

With so much to consider, we asked for help from someone who knows about all of it. Pat Callahan was a long time member of the Candlewood Lake Authority and is now a CT State Rep for New Fairfield.

We asked Pat to come on the Ethan and Lou Morning Show (I-95) to help us unpack these issues and find out if noise on the Lake is a problem we can solve.

Pat explained that if you make a complaint about noise on the Lake, there is no one that can really enforce it. But, the biggest issue is perception, yours and mine. This is what he had to say about the heated debate:

"As you guys know, I used to work for the judicial system and as the State's Attorneys office, how do you, how do you enforce a noise ordinance because it's someone's perception?

So, it's difficult, granted Candlewood Lake this weekend, it's not supposed to be that nice so we get a pass. But, 4th of July, the hot weeks, just like Squantz gets overloaded and crowded, Candlewood gets it as well.

And, there's always some people that are jerks and they're gonna blast their tunes until the wee hours of the night and that's unfortunately just humanity. But, the Marine Patrol and D.E.P., if they see a huge gathering that's getting out of control, they are going to go over and see if they have the proper life jackets, P.F.D.'s you know, check registrations, things like that.

And, they can say hey guys, you're acting like jerks, quiet it down. But, enforcement wise, eh, it's a tough one."

I got a headache trying to figure out who is in charge of what. If you don't have years of experience with Candlewood Lake matter like Pat does, it can be maddening to learn who is responsible for what. I can tell you who benefits from this, people who are breaking the rules and laws of Candlewood Lake.

Who do you call to complain? Who comes when you complain? What are they authorized to do when "they" get there? I can't get a straight answer.

Thank you to Pat Callahan for taking the time to join us on the Ethan and Lou Show to lend some hard information on the matter.

In it, we go into great detail about why people who obviously make too much noise get away with it, what the New Fairfield noise proposal will mean and we all agreed that some people will always have to clean up after others.

P.S. I got several text messages through the I-95 Rock Mobile app suggesting the use of decibel levels. Decibel levels measure noise and sure, as a community you could probably come together and agree on what are acceptable levels. What happens next? You are going to record the level of someone's music and present it to the police? Let's get real.

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