West, Williams & Saxtons and Lower Connecticut Rivers

Lake monitoring shows good conditions as well with only one lake in the Basin, Gale Meadows (34), having invasive Eurasian watermilfoil.

A number of lakes are impaired or stressed due to atmospheric deposition of acid rain or altered flow due to dams.

are recommended for reclassification, special designation or for further study. These waters meet or exceed water quality criteria for the recommended class or will be studied to verify they meet criteria. Working with partners, the public and the legislature, waters can be petitioned for higher levels of protection in order to ensure the high quality water and the public uses of these waters are not degraded in the future.

Candidate waters for A(1) and B(1) already meet the criteria levels needed for reclassification.

Waters of concern are  listed  as Stressed, 303(d) Impaired or Altered. The causes of the water quality problems include bacteria or another pollutant, stormwater runoff, temperature or flow alterations or may be the result of past manipulation of the channel or banks.

These waters will be the focus for restoration to improve water quality and habitat conditions.

The Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound (LIS) and is under an EPA Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for low dissolved oxygen levels in the Sound. Low DO is caused by excess nitrogen entering rivers and streams. Basin 11 is responsible for approximately 16% of Vermont’s nitrogen load. 

Modeling of nitrogen entering the Connecticut River from Basin 11 shows that the majority comes from atmospheric deposition. Urban land runoff, septic systems, agriculture and wastewater facilities make up the remainder of the nitrogen exported.

These maps, based on modeling data, estimate that Basin 11 is contributing more nitrogen from residential septic sources than from agriculture.

The  Vermont Enhanced Implementation Plan for the Long Island Sound TMDL  was added in 2013 to address four goals: 

1. To identify the Vermont sources of nitrogen across broad land use sectors, such as developed, agricultural and forested;
2. To identify the status and trends of important drivers of nitrogen export such as the intensity of agricultural and development activities and investigate how these might have changed since the TMDL baseline period of 1990;
3. To identify the management programs that address these drivers of nitrogen loading that have a significant effect on reducing or preventing nitrogen export; and
4. Using a weight-of-evidence approach, to assess the combined management programs/projects to develop a qualitative evaluation as to whether management efforts are sufficient to meet the original 2000 TMDL of a 10% non-point source nitrogen reduction and if these strategies are sufficient to maintain that control into the future.

Tactical basin plans target restoration efforts to the cause of the water quality impacts.

In partnership with state and federal agencies, regional partners and local organizations working in each sector, implementation project identified in the basin plan will work to restore and protect water quality and habitat conditions.

Recommendations to improve river and stream water quality conditions include:

• Focus areas for agricultural field and farmstead BMPs on the Williams River, the upper West River and the lower Saxtons River watersheds
• Riparian buffers should be planted:
• West River - Weston along Route 100
• West River and Grassy Brook in Brookline and Newfane
• Williams River - Chester and Rockingham
• Lower Saxtons River and Bull Creek
• Along the mainstem of CT River and its tributaries including Sacketts and East Putney Brooks
• Work with farmers to complete conservation assessments using NRCS’s CART (Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool)
• Determine sources of high nutrients in the Williams River near Chester/Rockingham line and Sacketts Book
• Encourage participation in the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
• Support local agricultural partners to provide outreach, education, and technical assistance to farms throughout the Basin

Recommendations to improve river and stream water quality conditions include:

• Continue the removal of dams wherever possible
• Complete a geomorphic assessment and River Corridor Plan for the upper West River
• Prioritize implementation projects that address sediment and erosion
• Plant or expand riparian buffers throughout the Basin
• Continue working toward river equilibrium by increasing floodplain access and protections
• Focus restoration work on reaches with High to Extreme Sensitivity geomorphic ratings
• Re-establish the flood control dam partnership with US Army Corps to implement the operations agreement
• Survey, monitor, and address aquatic invasive species on the Connecticut River and throughout the Basin

There are 49 mapped dams in the Basin, 40 of which remain in-service for recreation, water supply, hydropower production and fire and flood protection. Many more are unknown and not mapped. Most of these no longer serve any useful purpose and should be considered for removal to reconnect the rivers and streams for fish passage and sediment movement.

Dams are Classed according to their potential to cause harm downstream if they fail. 12 Basin dams are classed as either Significant or High Hazards.

Removing dams is a high priority in the Basin for stream stability and aquatic organism passage.

Recommendations to improve lake and pond conditions include:

• Offer  Lake Wise  outreach and technical assistance and prioritize Wantastiquet Lake, Cole Pond and Sunset Lake (Marlboro) 
• Continued monitoring Stratton Pond to determine the cause of the significantly increasing total phosphorus concentrations
• Establishing a boat access  Greeter Program s at Gale Meadows Pond, Lowell Lake and Townshend Reservoir to help prevent the spread of invasive species
• Establishing  Lay Monitoring Programs  on Lowell Lake, Gale Meadows, Kenny Pond, and Sunset Lake
• Implement sediment management projects at Townshend Reservoir
• Increase monitoring of the Basin’s lakes to fill data gaps

Wetlands comprising around 2.7% of the total area within this basin, or around 12,250 acres.

Recommendations to improve wetlands include:

• Work toward accurate mapping of wetland resources, including vernal pools
• Fully assess high quality wetlands for reclassification to Class I
• Provide technical assistance to municipalities in adopting local zoning ordinances that may afford wetlands further protection
• Recommendations for wetlands restoration include:
• Herrick Cove - Rockingham
• Henwood Hill Road Marsh - Westminster
• Retreat Meadows - Brattleboro
• Sand Hill Road - Putney
• Agricultural fields along Rt 100 north of village - Weston

Forestland covers 89% of the Basin. Over half of this area is under some form of more permanent protection either being publicly owned or privately managed under the Use Value Program (Current Use) for forestry. Forest cover is one of the best land uses for the protection of water quality.

Recommendations to improve forest conditions include:

• Expand the skidder bridge program to make them more available to loggers

• Prevent stream erosion and improve resiliency on working lands through riparian restoration; logging road restoration; and stream crossing improvements which include installing properly sized structures or structure removal

• Protect forest habitat for water quality protection, biodiversity, and drinking water sources

The Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife assesses fishery populations and important nursery areas to document biological and habitat conditions to manage for high-quality recreational fisheries. 

Recommendations to improve fishery conditions include:

• Protect and restore riparian corridors

• Improve aquatic habitat connectivity

• Improve flood resiliency and restore post-Irene impacts

• Where flows are regulated, promote the natural flow regime

• Stop the spread of exotic species and pathogens

• Protect water quality

• Identify and designate B(1) High Quality Fishing 

Stormwater runoff from developed lands, including the road network, is one of the greatest threats to water quality in Vermont. 

Developed lands cover just 5.6% of the Basin, the majority of which is roads. More developed areas of the Basin include Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Stratton, Winhall and Chester. 

Recommendations to reduce stormwater runoff include:

• Prioritize areas for implementation of stormwater improvement projects on: Crosby Brook, Ball Mountain Brook, Chester, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro
• Develop and implement Stormwater Master Plans for these communities
• Implement treatment recommendations in the town Stormwater Reports

 https://dec.vermont.gov/water-investment/cwi/solutions/developed-lands/idde 

The 2015 Basin Plan in 2015 offered 68 Actions for Implementation. 87% on these have been undertaken and are completed, in-progress or on-going at this time. Vermont has invested $7,713,621 in clean water projects since the last basin plan.

Partners in this work have included included local municipal and watershed groups, regional agencies and state agencies and departments.