Some great news from the Stormwater Collaborative, of which NorthWoods is a member organization:
Since December of 2017, a group of local organizations, municipalities, and State agencies have been working together and recently completed a Stormwater Strategic Plan for the Memphremagog watershed. This group, known as the Stormwater Collaborative, was initiated at the Leahy Summit at the Echo Center in Burlington and funded through a grant from the High Meadows Fund.
“Given the numerous sources of stormwater runoff and our large geographic area, establishing this collaborative is paramount to improving the quality of our waters- there is simply more work than anyone can do alone” says Kendall Lambert, Administrative Director of the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA), “We are excited to have strengthened relationships with new and existing partners and look forward to implementing the projects outlined in the plan.”
MWA would like to thank the following partners in the Stormwater Collaborative that helped in the development of the strategic plan: Newport City, Northeastern Vermont Development Association, Northwoods Stewardship Center, Orleans County Natural Resources Conservation District, Salem Lakes Association, Seymour Lake Association, Shadow Lake Association, Sterling College, Town of Brighton, Town of Charleston, Town of Derby, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont Department of Health, and Vermont Agency of Transportation. But the collaborative hopes to grow this list of partners as the process continues.
Ben Copans, Basin Planner with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation explains, “Stormwater runoff from roads, roofs, lawns, driveways, and barnyard areas contributes over 25% of the phosphorus loading to Lake Memphremagog and elevated levels of phosphorus in the lake have caused increased plant and algae growth that can limit the use of the Lake. The breadth and diversity of stormwater sources requires the coordination of community partners and I have already seen the how this strategic planning effort has guided partners in working together to tackle a complex water quality issue that cut across many disciplines.”
The strategic plan will guide the stormwater work of the partners for the next three years. The plan is divided into sections with priority projects and includes projects to reduce stormwater runoff from municipal roads, from private land, and even large scale engineering projects. The plan can be found online at www.mwavt.org along with project updates.