Vermont: Burlington - Public Interest Drives SWP
in Vermont
Background
Burlington, Vermont, is a city of approximately 40,000 residents located on the shores of
Lake Champlain. Not only is Burlington the largest city in Vermont, but it is also located
in the most populous and fastest growing county in the state. In addition to being a
popular source of recreation and commerce, the 120-mile long, 12-mile wide lake is the
source of drinking water for Burlington and other waterfront municipalities; there are no
public ground water sources in the City. The watershed for the lake spans most of
upstate Vermont, stretching from western Vermont into eastern New York State. As with
other large resource areas that stretch across multiple jurisdictions, protection of the
Lake Champlain watershed requires thoughtful coordination between federal, state, and
local governments, agencies and individuals. Because the city discharges its treated
wastewater and storm water into Lake Champlain and takes its drinking water from the
same source, the citizenry and businesses of Burlington have taken a strong interest in
the lake's water quality. This has led to an exemplary drinking source water
management and protection program.
Priority Contamination Threat
Nonpoint source pollution from treated waste water and storm water agriculture is the
priority contamination threat to the water supply.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
Community involvement has been part and parcel of Burlington's source water protection
program. Public forums held during the 1980's to address beach closure issues on Lake
Champlain initiated much of the subsequent planning work. The upgrading of three
Burlington wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was tied into a bond issue on a public
ballot. Hearings to address the WWTP upgrades, extension of one WWTP outfall further
into the Lake, and the separation of combined sewer outfalls (CSOs) were well attended
by the public and gained considerable news coverage. There was significant general
public involvement in the upgrade to the Drinking Water Treatment Plant and in efforts to
protect the area around the intake. For example, a broad representation of the public
was involved in the extension of a wastewater outfall beyond the breakwater and
Burlington Harbor. Representatives of interests from the perspectives of marinas to the
preservation of historic sunken ship sites were involved in the successful location of the
new outfall. Citizens have been involved through committees, surveys, and meetings at
each juncture of the program's development. There will also be a public outreach
component as part of the Englesby Brook Watershed Restoration project.
Management Measures
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In response to local concerns, and in concert with State and federal regulations, the City
of Burlington developed a Source Water Protection Program (SWPP), which was
approved by the Vermont State Water Supply Division in 1994. Development of the
SWPP was managed by the city, with assistance from the state, and enhanced by the
involvement of businesses and concerned citizens. Public meetings were held to discuss
the State SWPP development. During the development and implementation of the
SWPP, the state met with local farmers to discuss strict agricultural standards for the
management of spring runoff of nutrients from still-frozen fields onto which manure had
been spread over the winter. The purpose was to work with the farmers to achieve an
equitable balance between the water quality mandates of the state and the financial
concerns of the agricultural community, instead of handing down unattainable standards.
Some management measures adopted were a moratorium on manure spreading on still-
frozen fields and/or building lagoons for holding waste until the frost leaves the ground.
The Source Protection Plan was updated and adopted on February 8, 2006. The SWPP
is complemented by the additional protection efforts described below.
State of Vermont Act 250
In addition to the existing federal regulations, the State of Vermont has promulgated
comprehensive laws through Act 250, which each town and city within the watershed
must follow, regardless of the towns' individual differences in regulatory protocol. These
regulations govern many of the land uses within the watershed, providing carefully
monitored protection strategies that augment Burlington's protection efforts. The Act
regulates the land use permitting process near lake shores and rivers, taking into
account sewer system plans for new developments near Lake Champlain and its
tributaries as well as timber management, proposed impervious surface areas, water
use by ski areas to make artificial snow, and other issues. The Act helps to preserve the
quality of the Lake both within and outside of Burlington's jurisdiction.
City of Burlington Discharge Management Measures
Municipal wastewater treatment is commonly used to treat wastewater before
discharging to surface water bodies. When Burlington's first treatment plant was built in
1951, a single pipe carried combined storm water and wastewater flows. As the city
grew, problems arose during storm events, when excess flows overwhelmed the system
by 20 to 40 times its capacity, causing subsequent discharge of untreated sewage into
Lake Champlain. Pollution events such as these piqued residents' concerns, leading the
city to address the system's design. In the mid 1980's, several public forums were
sponsored by the Department of Public Works to gain public input on these problems
and generate consensus for solutions. The result was a $52 million bond vote for a
system upgrade, which was completed in 1996. Due to the prohibitive costs of
separating wastewater and storm water systems, as well as the pollution caused from
direct discharge of storm water, the city chose to maintain a combined sewer system at
its Main plant and provided separation at its two smaller facilities. The Main plant was
refitted with a 10-foot diameter outfall pipe extending 2,500 feet into the lake, providing
additional contact time for disinfection and allowing the wastewater to be diffused more
easily in the deeper, more turbulent waters offshore. In addition, the plant's tertiary
capacity was increased to 5.3 million gallons per day and a vortex separator was
constructed to treat up to 75 million gallons per day of combined sewer flows during
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periods of rainfall or snowmelt. At Burlington's other two plants, combined flows were
separated.
Watershed Protection and Management
The city's engineering staff has also been seeking solutions to the poor water quality of
two tributaries that drain into Lake Champlain, the Winooski River and Englesby Brook.
Englesby Brook provides drainage to approximately 600 acres of mixed use land in
Burlington and South Burlington. It is subject to hydrologic, chemical and bacterial
loadings typically associated with urban streams. Recently, the city received a grant to
perform a watershed restoration project for Englesby Brook, which has been studied for
the last ten years. The city started by teaming with the USGS to establish a stream
gauging system and hired the Center for Watershed Protection (a nationally recognized
non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of watersheds), to develop a
Watershed Management Plan. Management measures addressed in the plan include the
following:
• Retrofitting existing storm water ponds for better flow control and pollutant
removal;
• Construction of new treatment systems;
• Stabilization of the stream channel to prevent soil loss through erosion;
• Development of a public outreach and education program
This public outreach component of the plan will attempt to reduce pollutants generated
at their source. Components of this program will include pet waste management, lawn
care practices, roof drain relocation, illicit connection detection/removal, increased street
sweeping and dumpster waste management.
Drinking Water Intake Management
As water is withdrawn from the lake, it is screened and treated with chemicals such as
chlorine or potassium permangante to prevent colonization of zebra mussels inside the
pipe. At the plant, the water is processed using coagulation, filtration and disinfection
systems. Online turbidimeters measure the clarity of the water and particle counters
measure the size and number of particles entering the distribution system. Burlington's
water plant is a member of the Partnership for Safe Water, a proactive organization
whose purpose is to encourage water suppliers to provide the best possible water
treatment, focusing particularly on pathogen reduction.
Contingency Planning
In the event that problems with the Burlington intake require a temporary shutdown,
there are interconnecting pipes with the nearby Champlain Water District. Because Lake
Champlain is so large, and Burlington's intake system is located in the widest, deepest
portion of the lake, it is unlikely that a single spill event or emergency would take the
city's water offline for an extended period of time. If it does become necessary for any
reason, the city's reservoirs, which hold treated water from the lake, have enough
capacity to supply the city with water should a lengthy system shutdown occur.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
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Program effectiveness is partly measured through customer satisfaction and partly
through baseline monitoring standards and testing parameters. To ensure water quality,
the city conducts particle counts and turbidity measurements on a continuous basis.
Other physical, organic and inorganic tests are performed at various frequencies in
accordance with Federal and State guidelines. In addition, fifty-four water samples per
month are taken from nine locations out in the distribution system and checked for
bacteria and chlorine residuals, as well as fluoride. Results of this monitoring are sent to
the state in a monthly report. Collectively, these steps help to measure overall program
effectiveness.
For further information, contact:
Laurie Adams, Assistant Director
Burlington Public Works
(802) 863-4501
Steve Roy, Project Engineer
Burlington Public Works
(802) 865-7258
Tom Dion, Chief Plant Operator of Drinking Water
Burlington Public Works
(802) 863-4501
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