A Lake Champlain cyanobacteria monitoring program has been in place since 2002. The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) initiated a citizen-based near-shore monitoring program in 2003 and has expanded the network of trained volunteers and monitoring sites since that time. The monitoring program is an effective collaboration with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC), Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and participating New York agencies. The program includes New York, Vermont and Quebec monitoring sites. Since 2012, VT DEC has had primary responsibility for program oversight including Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) procedures. Funding for LCC’s portion of the monitoring program was provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and private donations.

This report covers LCC’s portion of the on-going Lake Champlain cyanobacteria monitoring program for the period between June 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 and focuses on monitoring season preparation, recruitment and training of volunteers, monitor season reporting, and analysis of the season. LCC trains and supports a network of volunteers who monitor for cyanobacteria at shoreland locations on Lake Champlain and at several inland Vermont lakes. LCC also assists in training water supply operators and state and municipal recreational personnel at Lake Champlain parks and beach areas. LCC’s data collection complements those of VT DEC and is integrated into a program that includes qualitative observations and quantitative analysis. LCC vets all of the monitor observations before they are approved for public viewing on a cyanobacteria data-tracker map housed on the VDH website. LCC also communicates results via our website, weekly emails to monitors and a list-serve of interested citizens, and through media releases and social media avenues. LCC’s outreach also focuses on how to recognize and respond to cyanobacteria blooms.

A new web-based tool, the Farm-P Reduction Planner (Farm-PREP), was developed to enable farmers to more effectively and efficiently identify modifications to their field operations in order to meet a target reduction in phosphorus (P) leaving the farm and help to achieve water quality improvement goals at the watershed scale. Development of this tool was motivated by the need to quantify reductions in P loads leaving farms due to the adoption of best management practices (BMPs) and to determine how those reductions compare to targets established based on the Lake Champlain Basin P Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The Farm-PREP tool is based on the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender Model (APEX). The APEX model is a physically based agronomic and water quality model designed for simulations at the field to farm/small watershed scale. The unique aspects of this project include the implementation of APEX through a streamlined, web-based user interface and the incorporation of optimization functionality that automatically identifies field-specific management options that meet water quality targets. The project represents a Phase 1 pilot of the Farm-PREP tool, with initial demonstration in the St. Albans Bay watershed in St. Albans, Vermont.

Municipal officials would benefit from guidance on how to incorporate cost effective, green infrastructure in urban roadside environments. Adherence to green infrastructure principles, practices, and the adoption of new technologies has proven to be effective at providing a suite of community benefits including stormwater management, energy savings, wildlife habitat, social and health values, and economic benefits. Of particular importance is the use of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) in urban roadside environments to address drainage and stormwater runoff issues that are too common along traditional streets. Optimal stormwater management looks beyond simply removing rainfall as quickly as possible, which risks negative environmental impacts associated with both stormwater quality and quantity, increased polluted runoff, sedimentation, and bank erosion. Instead, GSI focuses on efforts to retain and treat – or even eliminate – runoff at the source and improve water quality.

To meet this need we developed a comprehensive green street guidance document, Vermont Green Streets Guide, and associated training materials that provide practical information and advice on how to incorporate trees, landscaping, and other green infrastructure techniques to create high quality urban roadside environments in Vermont. The guidance document includes primarily Vermont and regional examples of green infrastructure and identifies specific practices based on cost-effectiveness, maintenance needs, benefits, and public appeal. Some examples include replacement of closed drainage with grass swales, tree planting, replacement of existing raised islands in parking lots with sub-grade islands or rain gardens, and other landscaping solutions.

The Vermont Green Streets Guide is a resource for community leaders, community planners, and policymakers wishing to advocate for and implement Green Streets throughout Vermont. It serves as a step-by-step document for communities to identify why Green Streets are relevant, where and how they can be implemented, and who will implement and maintain them.

The Guide is also a tool to help community leaders evaluate the role of their streets and parking lots in the environmental, economic, and social networks of their communities. It offers a framework for intentional design that incorporates natural systems into the urbanized contexts of streets and parking lots under local or state jurisdiction. It is intended for new developments, retrofits, redevelopments, and anywhere Green Streets opportunities exist within and adjacent to the public right-of-way or parking lots.

Floating Treatment Wetland (FTW) units were evaluated for their suitability in north-eastern United States conditions to improve the pollutant removal effect of a wet extended detention stormwater basin. A stormwater pond treating runoff from a residential townhouse development was monitored for chemical (TN, TKN, nitrate/nitrite, TP, TDP, TSS) and physical (Dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and temperature) parameters for one year (2015) prior to FTW installation and two years (2016-2017) with FTW rafts covering 25% of the pond surface. Flow-weighted composite samples at the inlet and outlet structures of the pond resulted in representative measurements of water quality coming into and leaving the ponds. FTW rafts were designed using three layers of Polyflow biological filter material and a two-part marine foam for floatation. Four plant species were selected based on their referenced use in the FTW literature in other areas: Pondeteria cordata (pickerelweed), Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (Softstem Bulrush), Carex comosa (Longhaired Sedge), Juncus effusus (Common Rush). Plants were evaluated for survivability through a growth season as well as over one winter. Additionally, species’ biomass was measured as an indicator of robustness of growth. The raft material itself was evaluated for damage after a winter to indicate potential challenges in cold, freezing conditions. The plant that performed the best based on survival and biomass production is the Longhaired sedge (Carex comosa). Water quality performance of the pond was compared between 2015 (pre-FTW) and 2017 (post-FTW and with established root zones). Storm size and antecedent dry days did not differ between the years. Water temperature did not differ between years but DO was lower in the post-FTW than in the time prior to FTW installation (p=0.027). Total nitrogen (TN) influent and effluent values were not affected. Total suspended solids (TSS) influent concentrations were consistent between years but the post-FTW period was characterized by greater TSS concentration in the effluent (p=0.015). Total phosphorus (TP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) had variable influent concentrations between pre- and post-FTW period. As a result, those data were analyzed as a percent difference in concentration between in and out. No difference was detected in percent difference of TP or TDP between years.

This project yielded the most detailed and accurate land-cover dataset ever produced for the United States portion of the Lake Champlain Basin (LCB). It leveraged the considerable investments made by state, regional, and federal organizations in high-resolution imagery and LiDAR for the LCB. Over a year-long period of intensive work, land cover in the Lake Champlain Basin was mapped at a resolution 900-times more detailed than any existing Basin-wide product. This project yielded two principal output datasets. The first is a 1-meter resolution land-cover dataset. The second is a 10-meter land cover layer in which the 1- meter classes were aggregated to the National Land Cover Database (NCLD) classification
schema. These related and complementary products ensure that all stakeholders in the LCB have the land-cover data they need to assess landscape status and process, from conservation managers seeking to evaluate riparian buffers to researchers modelling nonpoint source pollution. Land cover was mapped using advanced object-based image analysis techniques using high-performance computing. A detailed accuracy assessment was carried out and the overall accuracy was 91%. All products were documented with compliant metadata. These land cover products will be immediately useful to the Lake Champlain Basin Program and its collaborators and will serve as crucial input data for efforts seeking to address the issues raised in the Lake Champlain Opportunities for Action Management Plan.