Lake and trees on shoreline

The Vermont Water Resources and Lake Studies Center at the University of Vermont is one of 54 institutes established by Congress through the Water Resources Research Act of 1964 and located at the land-grant university in each state, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories.

The mission of the Vermont Water Center is to fund research on major water resource issues of concern to the state, to disseminate results from that research, and to help educate students about the nature and value of water resources.

Recent research efforts have focused on Lake Champlain, harmful cyanobacteria, influence of changing lake temperatures on fish, and farmer perceptions of Vermont's Clean Water Act. Early Water Center programs included USDA Soil Conservation Service funded projects of more than ten years duration on issues related to agricultural water quality and best management practices.

The Vermont Water Resources and Lake Studies Center is a member of the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) and is partially supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).