Lake Champlain Sea Grant is actively strengthening the watershed and water quality protection capabilities of local officials. Lake Champlain Sea Grant is active in several municipalities; working with local town officials, volunteer groups, schools and the business community to improve stewardship of urban waterways. Our programs work at the neighborhood level, with local officials and volunteer organization partners, to identify urban NPS sources, develop targeted education activities, and involve the schools, business community and residents in stewardship activities. We support the efforts of local groups and officials through residential surveys that identify domestic practices that contribute to NPS pollution, develop education programs that target these practices, engage and inform businesses in NPS reduction activities, and support youth educational and service activities.

Specific projects include:

Engelsby Brook Community-Based Restoration

A stormwater impaired, highly urbanized watershed with 750 residences in the south end of Burlington. We worked in partnership with City of Burlington, an ad hoc local volunteer organization, and a gardening organization to develop an educational project to promote low input grounds care for watershed businesses. Following the education effort, 10 of 35 contacted businesses were practicing low input (no phosphorous) grounds care. These 10 businesses managed 16 properties that included over 50% of the commercial lawn area in the watershed. We estimate that low input lawn care practices reduced phosphorous inputs between 0.45 - 0.93 MT in this 1 square mile urban watershed.

Mallets Bay

Approximately 799 lakeshore residences, both year round and seasonal camps. We worked in partnership with Town of Colchester Water Quality Commission and lakeshore associations to identify potential sources of non-point source pollution; especially likely sources of bacterial contamination that occasionally close local beaches. A survey of residences within 500 feet of the lakeshore showed that septic system malfunction, the suspected source, was relatively uncommon (6%). However, the survey found that there is a large dog population in the lakefront area (1.13 dogs/household or about 620 total) and that a significant number of households (37%) allow dog waste to remain on the property. This is an important potential source of bacteria that could be reduced through a targeted education effort by the with Town of Colchester and lakeshore associations.

Stevens and Ruggs Brook Watershed

There are 739 residences in this urban watershed in St. Albans, VT. A survey identified lack of soil testing and excessive fertilizer application as important contributors to phosphorous pollution of the brooks. Following a educational effort involving the Town of St. Albans, the St. Albans Area Watershed Association, the UVM Master Gardeners program, and Bellows Free Academy, we found a highly significant decrease in the number of respondents using and a significant increase in number of respondents using soil tests. We also found a highly significant decrease in respondents’ reliance on bag instructions or planned step program guidelines to determine fertilizer use, and a highly significant increase in the number of respondents willing/very willing to change practices to reduce impact on water quality