Runoff from urban areas causes a great deal of pollution in Lake Champlain. Urban runoff contains nutrients from lawn and garden fertilizers, vehicular pollutants such as gasoline and oil, and pesticides from lawns, gardens, and golf courses. Blanchard Beach in Burlington is permanently closed for swimming due to pollution from runoff into Englesby Brook. See the USGS Monitoring of Englesby Brook and a 1999 story by WPTZ about the efforts to clean up Englesby Brook to learn more.

Burlington teens involved with the Lake Champlain Science Center's Explainer's program have been conducting monitoring of urban runoff into the Winooski River in the northern part of Burlington. Learn about what they are doing and have a look at some of their data.