Jon Russo

Intro to Research Methods

10/1/14
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Introduction
The Colchester Sun, a local newspaper that gets dropped off to my home once a
week, always seems to narrowly miss the recycling bin and finds a home on my
Kitchen table. When my busy schedule provides the time, I find myself combing
through the articles while sipping my coffee. Through this outlet of local news I
discovered a problem living in my local lake. In Lake Champlain, algae blooms are
becoming a growing concern among the residence living near the shorelines.
Reports of a blue green algae thats polluting the water quality, killing our lake
dwelling brother and sister species and just plain stinking up the place seems to be
a growing concern. The issue isnt new and the problem seems to be getting
worse. According to the Lake Champlain Basin Program's time line, the algae
blooms started to become a public concern in 1999 when two dogs died from
drinking the algae infested lake water.
As a resident of Colchester and Chittenden County, I know enough to realize my
drinking water comes from Lake Champlain. In fact the lake provides drinking
water for over 140,000 Vermont residents and this algae problem could affect
everybody living within this watershed. If the problem isnt acknowledged,

Identified and a solution isnt thought of, we could potentially run into trouble with
our drinking water as other states have already discovered (Flagg, 2014).

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In this paper, I will Identify the problem, where it comes from, how bad the
situation is, why it appears to be getting worse, and how this affects us all within
the community. The question I am looking to answer through research is simple.
What is the projected fate of our lake? How can we expect to grow our economy
while protecting our most valuable resource. How can we protect our drinking
water, our lake, our watershed?

Understanding a Watershed
To be able to identify and critically think about the problem, we must first
understand it. The first step involved in identifying the issue is to define a
watershed. A watershed is an area of land where communities form in a bounded
hydrologic system where all living things are linked by their common water course
(Environmental Protection Agency, 2012).
A harmful algal bloom is also known as cyanobacteria, this is a natural and
common component of plankton found in Lake Champlain as well as other bodies
of water. The issue isn't that the algae is present in the lake, the issue is that it's
growing out of control and the problematic plankton is only getting worse (Vermont
Department of Health, 2014). According to the documentary Bloom The Plight of

Lake Champlain, the toxic blue green algae has been an issue for the last twelve
years.
When harmful algae blooms start to grow out of control in a watershed,
problems start to occur. Residents near the shoreline notice poor and unfavorable
water quality along with an unpleasant stench. Animals have died from exposure
to the contaminated water and humans can become ill if it

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gets introduced to our drinking water supply. Shellfish and other water dwelling
species get sick and die off as well. As a result of these algae blooms, businesses
that benefit from tourism around Lake Champlain suffer. Bay Park would be a sad
example. At one point, Bay Park used to average 55,000 visitors per year during
the summer season. As the blue green algae started to become more common
around 2006, the average visitors number dropped to only 5,000 a year
(Guadagno, 2012). The top six problem spots in Lake Champlain to date includes
Saint Albans Bay, Shelburne Bay, Thompson's Point, North Hero, Inland Sea, and
Missisquoi Bay. These spots are prone to harmful algal blooms do to having
warmer shallow water and high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus (Vermont
Department of Health, 2014).

Lake Champlain In Context

Lake Champlain is the sixth largest lake in the United States, bordering Vermont,
Quebec, and New York. The Lake can hold up to four hundred metric tons of
phosphorus, but at times reaches levels of twelve hundred metric tons. Phosphorus
feeds the blue green algae and allows it to reproduce quickly. The three major
phosphorus sources for lake Champlain are; storm water run off, outdated waste
water treatment plants, and big dairy operations (Guadagno, 2012). As the
nutrients in the water rise to larger levels Algae grows faster than the ecosystem
can handle and this is the issue that is ultimately harming Lake Champlain
(Environmental Protection Agency, 2012).

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Storm Water Run Off

The Lake Champlain Basin Program has recognized climate change as playing a
big role in the health of our lake. Increased flooding from heavy rain fall causes
storm water to destroy streams. This increased sediment along with warming
waters provides a very habitable place for cyanobacteria to grow and quickly
multiply. The Northeast is expected to see increased rainfall as climate change
continues to play out. As local residents we also play a role in the storm water run
off issue (LCBP, 2014).
When rain falls on towns and cities, sometimes at a rate of twelve gallons per
minute, it flows off hard surfaces like roofs, sidewalks and driveways flowing into

the storm drainage system. This can overload the system and contribute to stream
bank erosion and water pollution (LCBP, 2014). Whether you're a local resident or
living in a completely different watershed, some things you could do to help with
this problem in your area would include; down spout redirection, rain barrels, and
planting a rain garden. The down spout redirection idea redirects the run off from
the storm drains onto the lawn where it will be absorbed into the ground. A rain
Barrel is another solution that consists of a series of rain barrels located at the end
of the down spouts that will collect the rain for later use, like watering the garden.
If there is no other use available, they can be dumped on the lawn at a later time.
The final solution for those garden savvy people is to plant a rain garden. A rain
garden can range in sizes and provides a nice look for your lawn. This type of
garden populated with flowers and shrubs also attracts birds and pollinating
insects, especially when combined with the down spout redirection model.
Redirecting the water to the rain garden helps attracts furry and feathery friends
who enjoy the scenery (LCBP, 2014).
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Waste Water Treatment

Pollution from waste water treatment plants currently make up three percent of
the total phosphorus load in Lake Champlain, however this three percent is a
highly concentrated amount and offers a fertile feeding ground for the harmful
blue green algae (Guadagno, 2012). In 2013 there was fifty two harmful discharges
totaling more than five million gallons of phosphorus rich polluted water. Out of
those fifty two harmful discharges, fifteen came in the form of Authorized Wet

Weather Combined Sewer Overflows. During heavy rain storms, an overload of

water overwhelms the combined sewer system consisting of residential homes and
businesses. The overloaded sewer system cant keep up with treating the water
and in those cases the waste water treatment plants get authorized to release
their backup of storm and waste water directly into natural waterways. (Dobbs,
2013).
As we move forward and climate change continues to be a growing concern, it is
expected that more of these issues will plague Vermont. With the prediction of
more rainfall in the future, the waste water treatment flooding concern is expected
to get worse and a lot of money will need to be spent to upgrade our current sewer
system. The goal is to eventually separate the storm water run off from the sewer
system. This would eliminate the overflow of sewage into our waterways when
there is a heavy rainfall (Dobb, 2013). As residents and registered voters, it is our
duty to vote for local politicians who will make these upgrades a priority sooner
than later. We all have a voice and using it correctly is an important tool we can
utilize to help protect our resources as our economy grows.

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Big Dairy Operations

Agriculture makes a crucial contribution to Vermont's economy, producing an
average of 302 million gallons of milk each year. As great as that is for our state, a
price is paid for that production. Just like any other production site, waste is

created to make a product. In the case of milk production, manure is the waste
product that needs to be dealt with. With roughly 145,000 dairy cows, 9,000 beef
cattle, chickens, goats and other live stock, many tons of manure is produced each
year. In some cases one farmer running a controlled animal feeding operation in
Vermont will produce up to 1.2 million gallons of manure in a week (Guadagno,
2012).
Agriculture contributes to phosphorus loading in the lake through inadequate
manure management, unstable stream bank impacts and other land use practices.
Farmers have been investing in private resources since the early 1980's in support
of state and federal programs to reduce phosphorus loads in Vermont waterways
(Watershed Management Division, 2014). As we see an increasing trend toward
controlled animal feeding operations, or CAFO's in Vermont. Along with an increase
in storm water run off, which washes phosphorus rich manure into the waterways
and into our lake, it seems clear this cyanobacteria problem is one to take
seriously. As consumers, it is important we know where our food comes from. It is
our responsibility to make informed decisions on who we buy it from. The Intervale
Food Hub located in Burlington is a great example of how we can buy our food
locally and have the opportunity to shake the hand of the farmer who grows it. This
along with a high in vegetable, low in meat diet helps to curb the CAFO
phenomenon in the U.S and specifically in Vermont.

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How We All Impact the Phosphorus Problem

In an indirect way we can minimize the impact of the lakes phosphorus overload
but we all need to realize we have a phosphorus footprint ourselves. We can make
an impact by controlling the household chemicals we use. When pollutants leave
our homes, through sinks, toilets and sewer drains they end up in our lakes or
rivers. Leaves and grass clippings are also a small part of the problem, when they
decompose phosphorus is released. Lawn fertilizer and solid waste from animals is
also a contributing factor. Both are rich in phosphorus and nitrogen and should be
used or discarded appropriately (LCBP, 2014). Clean water is a vital resource, we
all need to become educated and make informed decisions in our everyday
routines.

Relation to Drinking Water

As stated earlier, a big concern for me that sparked my interest in this issue was
the relation this all has to our drinking water and human health. After all, animals
have died drinking this water. What is the chance this harmful blue green algae will
get from source to my sink? Over 140,00 Vermonters are drinking this water which
results in twenty million gallons of water being pumped from the lake daily. Most of
the residents drinking this water obtain it through public water supplies that are
monitored and regulated according to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act which
requires public water systems to monitor eighty four potential contaminants in
drinking water (LCBP, 2014).
Public water suppliers have become increasingly effective at treating water
affected by cyanobacteria. This is happening by increased testing in raw and
finished water when blooms are

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present. Cyanotoxins are typically removed during routine treatment by water

suppliers. However in the past a treatment plant in Philipsburgh, Quebec has found
traces of cyanotoxins present in their finished water during substantial blooms
occurring over extended periods in Missisquoi Bay (LCPB, 2014).
Individual homeowners are the ones with a high level of risk. If water is being
taken by the lake the typical filtering and boiling may not be sufficient in removing
the cyanotoxins. The Lake Champlain Basin Program strongly advises these
residents to contact their local health department to be sure they are sufficiently
treating their drinking water.

The History of Lake Champlain

We are clearly facing some serious problems today and going into the future,
however the future isn't a sad one. If we look back to the history of our lake and
the problems this community has faced, I believe Vermont along with Quebec and
New York are up for the challenge of cleaning up the mess we find ourselves in
today. In the 1960's the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) and it's members
prevented Lake Champlain from being used as an international commercial seaway
for supertankers and stopped construction of a nuclear power plant on the
Charlotte shore. In the 70's the LCC secured passage of boat holding tank laws to
prevent dumping of raw sewage. A successful effort was led to ban phosphate in
laundry detergents which resulted in a significant reduction of nutrient loading to

the lake. Finally a lake wide citizen monitoring program was established, currently
the longest running one in the country (LCBP, 2014).
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In the 1980's the nations first citizens of acid rain monitoring program was
established. The governors of New York and Vermont along with the premier of
Quebec were brought together to sign an agreement to cooperate in reducing lake
pollution. In the 90's fifteen million dollars in federal funds were secured to support
lake study and clean up efforts. Legislation was passed to fund upgrades in
sewage treatment plants to reduce nutrient loading to waterways. In 2000 2010
several steps have been taken to reduce nutrients by raising funds and public
awareness to foster citizen involvement in lake clean up and restoration (LCBP,
2014). It seems clear that when a community puts it's mind on a task, results
happen fairly quickly. Once this phosphorus problem is made a priority, solutions
are sure to follow.

The Lake Mead Example

Lake Mead is the watershed for Las Vegas, in 2001 the lake was plagued by an
algal bloom that turned most of the lake green. This was met with a strong
coordinated response from the cities, county, state and federal agencies. Waste
water treatment, urban run off and water quality were all addressed. Additional
wetlands and the Las Vegas wash were developed to naturally filter out
phosphorus from urban run off and waste water. As managers learned from the

results, improvements were made in the waste water treatment facilities. The
facilities started to raise bacteria that consumed the phosphorus before releasing
the treated waters back into Lake Mead. As a result, Lake Mead has one of the
highest water quality rates in the country (Wessells and Rosen, 2013).

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Conclusion
Lake Champlain is in fact struggling with an algal bloom epidemic. This is clearly
caused by too much phosphorus being introduced into the lake. The three major
causes are from storm water run off, outdated water treatment facilities and
agriculture. When getting to the root cause, all are linked to global warming and
climate change. Can we grow our economy and combat climate change? Our
biggest issue with climate change is now well known. Our fossil fuel addiction,
which drives our economy. This is also depleting our natural resources.
If as a society we can figure out how to grow and sustain our lust for energy
without burning fossil fuel, we have a chance to prosper into the future. In the
meantime we can all take steps to minimize the impact by reducing our own
carbon footprint and more importantly for this topic, our phosphorus footprint.
When I feel like we as a society aren't doing enough for our environment, I stumble
across some information akin to the history of our lake. Through this information, I
see light at the end of the tunnel. I feel as though there is hope for the future.

When we decide what our priorities are as a society we act swiftly and
brilliantly. With several organizations from Vermont, New York and Canada
passionately discussing the issues and increasing scientific testing, I have hope for
the future of Lake Champlain. If we all make responsible decisions, vote, and
educate ourselves on the issues around us. We all can make a difference and
secure the fate of our watershed.

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The following is a list provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program to help
educate and offer solutions that we all can do.
What I Can Do for Lake Champlain
Use inexpensive, environmentally sound cleaning products
Read the labels on detergents and soaps
Check the ingredients in your cleaning and personal care products
Reconsider the use of antibacterial soaps
Avoid pouring chemicals or motor oil down storm drains or into your septic
system
Take toxic trash to a hazardous waste drop-off center
Never flush

unused medications

Pick up and dispose of pet waste in the garbage

Wash your car on the lawn
Keep cars and machinery in good working order
Manage rain run off from your driveway

 Replace pavement with gravel or bricks

Reduce automobile use, ride a bike or walk instead
Shop for local and sustainably raised food products
Join a lake or river organization

http://www.lcbp.org/