Community Water Quality Meeting

On February 25^th, 2026, the Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District (FCNRCD) hosted a Community Water Quality Meeting at the Saint Albans Museum. This meeting was an opportunity for partner organizations and the public to share and hear updates on the current state of water quality across the District. With 28 attendees including the public and staff from partner organizations and FCNRCD, we are grateful for the continued commitment and collaboration to improving water quality. We extend our thanks to  the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC), the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM), the Missisquoi River Basin Association (MRBA), the Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, the Grand Isle Natural Resource Conservation District (GINRCD), the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), the Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC), and the Vermont Department of Conservation (DEC) for attending and sharing highlights from their water quality projects and programs. 

Current Water Quality Issues 

Clean water is at the heart of healthy communities, thriving farms, and resilient ecosystems. Lake Champlain and the surrounding watersheds are impacted by water quality issues due to phosphorus inputs (including legacy phosphorous), fluctuating temperatures, nitrates, turbidity, sediment loads, and changes in dissolved oxygen. These issues stem from point- and nonpoint-pollution sources, invasive species impacts, land use changes, and climate change (increasing flood and drought events). Many organizations and individuals including Vermont’s NRCDs, nonprofits watershed groups, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and landowners and farmers across Vermont are working hard to approach these multifaceted issues from many different angles.  

• Phosphorus: Too much phosphorous released (from fertilizers, manure, stormwater, etc.) into the landscape has resulted in increased cyanobacteria blooms causing harm to our health, recreation, and economy. Settled sediment containing legacy phosphorus is released when calm conditions and oxygen increase, further contributing to water quality impacts. 

• Flooding: Precipitation changes due to climate change are impacting the landscape and causing infrastructure harm, erosion, and inundation. Historical changes to rivers and streams have exacerbated the issue leading to faster, stronger flood events. It is estimated that precipitation in the Northeast will increase by 52% by the end of the century, and flood costs could exceed $5.2 billion in Vermont. Flooding impacts increase when mountainous terrain and soils become saturated from frequent rainfall, rivers are manipulated, and dams surpass their operational lifetime. (Act 121: Limiting Development in River Corridors to Reduce Flood Risk, Alison Spasyk). 

• Drought: Drought events are also increasing due to climate change, with 2025 being a record year. In drought years, water flow and volume are reduced, which concentrates pollutants, increases temperatures, and promotes algal blooms. 94% of Vermont experienced drought in 2025, with August having the driest conditions in 130 years. Economic impacts are also a major concern. Costs to farmers reached $15.9 million in 2025.  

  
  

What is being done 

Across agriculture, stormwater management, wastewater treatment, transportation infrastructure, and natural resource conservation, Vermonters are working collaboratively to improve water quality. Meaningful progress is being made. 

In 2025 alone: 

• $174.6 million was invested in clean water initiatives (up from $11.6 million in 2016) 

• Agricultural conservation practices were implemented on 450,861 acres  

• 30,114 acres of land conserved with natural resources protections 

• 28 wastewater systems were refurbished 

• 2,756 acres of impervious surface were treated through stormwater permits 

• 74 metric tons per year of phosphorus were reduced statewide (with agriculture contributing 61.35 MT/year) 

• Projects such as floodplains and riparian buffers restorations, improved road and ditch management, and stormwater and wastewater infrastructure upgrades are all helping reduce runoff, erosion, and phosphorus inputs. 

Progress is happening — and it’s the result of coordinated action across sectors. 

Partner Spotlight 

Some highlights from our partner organizations:

Missisquoi River Basin Association (MRBA) – Sarah Lunn, Project Manager 

• After nearly 10 years of coordination with landowners and engineers, the Sleeper Pond Dam was removed in fall 2025 with funding from the Flood Resilient Community Fund, Clean Water Service Provider, and Watersheds United Vermont. This dam was nonoperational since the early 1900s and had a large sediment build-up in its impoundment. By removing the dam, an estimated 30.28kg/yr of phosphorous has been removed from Mud Creek!  

• Next steps include invasive species control, the planting of ~600 stems along the stream, and continued monitoring of the streambed as it renaturalizes. 

  
  

Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC) – Bridget Butler, Executive Director 

• FNLC shared valuable perspectives on how best to complete water quality projects, emphasizing that healthy water starts with people. They highlighted that building strong relationships and understanding community concerns are essential to ensuring that water quality solutions are sustainable.

• FNLC celebrates over 20 years of service! Congratulations and thank you for all your hard work!

Grand Isle Natural Resource Conservation District (GINRCD) – Molly Varner, District Manager 

Within the past 5 years, GINRCD has: 

• worked with 30 farms 

• completed 107 farm visits 

• reduced phosphorous by 5,000 kg in Lake Champlain 

• hosted 35 outreach events reaching over 1,000 participants 

• collaborated with 60 non-agricultural landowners 

• collected 230 water quality samples 

• invested $1.5 million in water quality initiatives and $2.3 million in federal funding  

GINRCD has accomplished many water quality projects and has worked closely with landowners to advance conservation goals. Magnificent work, GINRCD! 

Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) – Dean Pearce, Senior Planner 

• NRPC works to coordinate partners, towns, and people across a regional scale. This collaboration is important for working at the scales that water quality issues exist. Clean water depends on basin-wide coordination. Since there are no county governments in Vermont, NRPC helps to fill that role by both turning research into projects and funding many of those projects in their role as a Clean Water Service Provider for the Lamoille River Basin, Missisquoi Bay Basin, and the Northern Lake Champlain Basin.  

• NRPC also contributes to water quality studies. Currently, they are in the process of researching how water quality in the Missisquoi Bay affects property values and retail tax revenues.   

Thank you to those that presented their water quality projects and programs. Collaborating across the District will continue to help improve water quality issues and impacts.  

Takeaways: 

• We are making great progress to improve water quality.  

• Both agriculture and natural resource-based projects play an influential role in achieving those goals.  

• We all have a role to play across all sectors. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about ongoing water quality projects, please email us at info@franklincountynrcd.org.