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The Chittenden County Regional Stormwater Education Program (RSEP) received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in Education and Outreach for its Smart Waterways program in a ceremony held at the state house Monday evening. Governor Jim Douglas presented the award to Bryan Osborne, RSEP Chair and Director of Public Works for the Town of Colchester.

The collaborative program was recognized as a model to inspire all Vermonters to find innovative approaches to deal responsibly with stormwater.

“We are honored to accept this award,” said Bryan Osborne. “Our Smart Waterways public education program is aimed at getting residents personally involved in helping to reduce stormwater pollution in Lake Champlain, and in our streams, rivers and wetlands. This award provides greater recognition for our efforts to protect Vermont’s waterways.”

RSEP is administered by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, its members include: the Towns of Colchester, Essex, Milton, Shelburne and Williston; the Cities of Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski; the Village of Essex Junction; the Burlington International Airport; the University of Vermont, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Information on stormwater runoff pollution and tips on minimizing your impact can be found at www.smartwaterways.org.

The Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence were established in 1993 to honor Vermont individuals, organizations, institutions, public agencies, businesses, and industry using innovative approaches to reduce or eliminate the generation of pollutants and wastes at the source. The winners are selected by a panel of judges appointed by the Agency of Natural Resources.

The Regional Stormwater Education Program (RSEP), a collaboration of eleven entities in Chittenden County to provide regional stormwater education, has received a $29,500 grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New England Office. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation applied for the grant on behalf of RSEP.

“This grant will allow RSEP to communicate important information on stormwater quality to a wider audience and let people know what they can do to reduce stormwater pollution,” said Dennis Lutz, chair of RSEP and director of public works for the town of Essex. “RSEP will also be able to help the town of Milton develop a stormwater management plan so that it may join the efforts of the other municipalities in RSEP.”

The grant will make it possible for RSEP to strengthen its effort to educate people about the impact of their behavior on stormwater quality. The funding will be used for additional print, radio, and cable television advertising. The grant will also allow RSEP to assist the town of Milton to develop a stormwater management plan with a public involvement and participation component. Milton will become a member of RSEP.

RSEP is a collaborative effort between eight Chittenden County municipalities, (Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, Essex, Essex Junction, Winooski, Shelburne, and Williston), the Burlington International Airport, Vermont Agency of Transportation, and the University of Vermont.

RSEP is coordinated by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. After the general information phase, later phases of the program will focus on the ongoing efforts to reduce stormwater pollution by the Burlington Airport, University of Vermont, municipalities participating in RSEP, and the business and commercial sector.

Town meeting day unofficially marks the beginning of spring, and also indicates the start of outdoor car washing, gardening, and home improvement projects. Unfortunately, few people realize that harmful chemicals can be washed into local waterways if spring cleaning chores are not performed properly.

To help people learn more about the harmful effects of their behaviors on stormwater and Lake Champlain, The Chittenden County Regional Stormwater Education Program (RSEP) will launch its new Web site http://www.smartwaterways.org, and distribute educational fact sheets on town meeting day. In addition, RSEP will be launching a series of radio and television ads this spring, in an effort to help people learn how they can improve water quality in the lake with simple changes in their everyday lives.

The Web site has brief descriptions of common household behaviors that cause water quality problems, simple solutions anyone can act on, events and programs in local communities, an explanation of how the stormwater system works in Chittenden County, and an interactive map. The Web site will be further expanded to include more information and features. The facts sheets educate residents about preventing stormwater and lake pollution, and reducing the environmental impact of working in the home and garden, doing auto maintenance, making home repairs, and painting and remodeling.

“The Smart Water Ways Web site will be a resource for all residents of Chittenden County to find information on how their behavior affects stormwater quality. We know that the people in our towns are concerned about the health of our streams and the lake. This Web site and fact sheets will give people tools to help care for this valuable resource,” said RSEP chair Dennis Lutz, Town Engineer for the Town of Essex.

RSEP is coordinated by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. The educational program is part of an overall comprehensive stormwater permit effort required by federal law and embraced by the RSEP. After the general information phase, later phases of the program will focus on the ongoing efforts to reduce stormwater pollution by the Burlington Airport, University of Vermont, municipalities participating in RSEP, and the business and commercial sector.

Findings released today indicate that residents do not have a clear idea of where stormwater goes and are generally unaware of the effect of their daily actions on sediment and contaminant levels in runoff and our waterways. The Regional Stormwater Education Program (RSEP) and the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) released the results of a survey of 400 Chittenden County residents’ knowledge and awareness of stormwater-related issues.

“Sediment is the leading cause of water quality problems in urban streams. Sources of sediment include runoff from impervious surfaces and lawns,” said Mike Winslow, staff scientist for the LCC. “These survey results tell us that people aren’t connecting their personal actions to problems in local waterways.”

Nearly 2 out of 3 survey respondents did not know that water from their outdoor lawn and garden runs directly into storm drains or creeks, rivers and Lake Champlain untreated. In contrast, 81.8% understood that their kitchen/bath water was treated at either a waste treatment plant or through a septic system. Dirty stormwater can pose health hazards, kill fish and wildlife, cause beach closings, and lead to flooding.

“Household-generated polluted runoff is a significant contributor to the overall water pollution problem in the Lake Champlain region and Vermont. Household-generated pollutants, such as nutrients from garden fertilizers, pesticides and animal wastes and behaviors such as washing cars on paved driveways or digging for home landscaping projects without banking or berming are negatively affecting the areas’ water quality,” said Bryan Osborne, vice-chair of the RSEP. A clear majority (57.2%) of respondents wash their cars at home. Of those who wash their car at home more than once a month, 68.3% always wash their car on a paved surface. Over half of respondents believe (incorrectly) there is very little or no impact from hosing sand, gravel and other debris off driveways and into street gutters. A majority of respondents (55.8%) believe (incorrectly) there is little or no impact on water quality in this region from erosion from small home/garden construction projects. In contrast, 69.1% understand that roads and pavement for large-scale commercial and residential development has a significant stormwater-related effect.

Animal waste is a leading source of bacteria pollution in out waterways. Regardless of whether they walk their dog(s) or have their own yard, a significant number of dog owners (3 out of 10 people who walk their dog and 4 out of 10 people with a yard) do not deposit their pet’s waste in the trash or toilet.

To increase public awareness about the causes of and solutions to polluted runoff, the RSEP will implement an educational campaign to spread the word about simple steps residents can take to minimize the impact of their actions on stormwater contamination. This campaign will include basic information about runoff, focusing on the topics and behaviors identified in the survey as least understood. By increasing residents’ awareness of the impact of their everyday actions on the stormwater system, specifically home/lawn work, home construction and landscaping projects, car washing, and other activities on paved driveways, and appropriate pet waste disposal, the RSEP hopes to improve water quality in local waterways and Lake Champlain.

The RSEP is a collaborative effort between eight Chittenden County towns, (Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, Essex, Essex Junction, Winooski, Shelburne, and Williston), the Burlington International Airport, Vermont Agency of Transportation, and the University of Vermont. The LCC is a non-profit organization focused on the health of Lake Champlain and its watershed.

For more information about the RSEP and its educational program contact Bryan Osborne, Colchester’s Director of Public Works at (802) 654-0716. For more information abut the stormwater survey results or water quality, contact Mike Winslow from the LCC at 658-1461.

Stormwater is water that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets and highways, playing fields, and gravel roads and parking lots, and flows into waterways or the storm drain system, which ultimately drains into waterways and Lake Champlain. With increasing development, more and more surfaces are impervious. Runoff that once percolated into the ground, where it could be cleaned and released slowly over time, now flows directly into storm drains and waterways.

Stormwater picks up pollutants along the way, including oil and grease, harmful bacteria, fertilizers, toxic chemicals and other contaminants that are harmful to people, animals and aquatic life. A common misperception is that water running off streets and into storm drains goes to a wastewater treatment plant. It does not. Stormwater usually receives no treatment before being discharged into waterways.

The pollutants of greatest concern in stormwater are sediment and bacteria. Sediment can smother aquatic creatures and their habitat and transport nutrients and toxins downstream. High bacteria levels can lead to human illness and beach closings.

Survey Results

Nearly 2 out of 3 survey respondents did not know that water from their outdoor lawn and garden runs directly into storm drains or creeks, rivers and Lake Champlain untreated

Twenty-seven percent of respondents admit that they don’t know where stormwater goes. Our waterways are the final destination of stormwater brooks, streams, rivers and ultimately, Lake Champlain. Except for a portion of the storm drain system in Burlington, stormwater in Chittenden County is not treated prior to discharge.

Forty percent of respondents report using fertilizer. Of these most use it on their lawn (44%) or gardens (48%). Thirty-nine percent of respondents use chemicals to control insects and thirty two percent use chemicals to control weeds. Of people who report using pesticides, most (48%) apply pesticides to the lawn.

Pesticides are toxic and can be deadly to fish and their aquatic habitats. If chemicals must be used, they should be used sparingly and no more than the recommended amounts should be applied. Using natural alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides is preferable. Avoid applying fertilizers and pesticides before it rains.

Twenty-seven percent of pet owners admit to not taking care of dog waste on walks; Thirty-eight percent do not take care of pet waste in their yards.

Pet waste contains bacteria and viruses that can contaminate surface and ground water, and cause beach closings. Pet owners should pick up after their pet and dispose of waste in a garbage can or toilet.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents wash their car at home. Of these sixty-eight percent always wash their car over paved surfaces and another ten percent occasionally wash their cars over paved surfaces.

Washing cars at home often uses more water than a commercial car wash and can introduce
soap, oil and engine grime into the environment. Commercial car washes often filter, clean, and recycle wastewater and are required to dispose of it at a treatment facility. If you must wash cars at home, wash less, use a biodegradable phosphate-free soap, and wash it on the grass so that wastewater can soak into the ground.

Respondents believed the following activities had little or no impact on water quality: household construction projects (41%), hosing sediment off of driveways (47%), runoff from lawns and gardens (39%), and parking lot/road runoff (28%).

All of these activities are problematic because they contribute to sediment, which damages water quality. While one individual’s impact from any one of these activities is minor, the combined and cumulative impact of these common practices has a significant impact on the quality of local
waterways.

Communities Pull Together to Fight Stormwater Pollution The Chittenden County Regional Stormwater Education Program (RSEP) is launching a new public education program aimed at getting residents personally involved in helping to reduce stormwater pollution in Lake Champlain.

“We know that the people in our towns are concerned about the health of our streams and the lake. Everyone has a vested interest in clean water. A significant part of our job is to help provide information so people can assist in the care of this valuable resource,” said RSEP chair Dennis Lutz, Town Engineer for the Town of Essex. “This program aims at giving residents the tools they need to make changes in their own lifestyles to lower the levels of sediment runoff and phosphorous and improve water quality in the streams entering the lake,” he said.

“Our educational efforts will be voluntary and cooperative,” Lutz said. Serving with him on the RSEP Steering Committee are officials from eight Chittenden County towns, Burlington International Airport, and the University of Vermont. Participating as nonvoting members are representatives of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Champlain Water District.

Total funding for the five-year program is expected to reach at least $250,000. The RSEP will use printed materials, television and radio to help people learn how they can improve water quality in the lake with simple changes in their everyday lives. The group envisions families learning about and working together on issues involving runoff and stream and lake pollution, much as they did with the trash recycling efforts in the county.

The rewards of pitching in for cleaner lake water will be noticeable to everyone, he said. “Lake Champlain is the major source of drinking water in the county and the center of much of our recreational activity. It’s critical for public health, especially for children and pets. Even our economy and property values depend on having a healthy and clean lake.”

Increasing incidents of blue-green algae pollution, poisoned pets, high pollution levels in streams and the lake, and summer beach closings have raised public awareness of the problems caused by pollutants running into the water. The new education program will help people learn to care for landscaping, lawns and gardens without sending harmful chemicals into water that reaches the lake. It will educate families about fertilizers, household chemicals, automotive products, and home construction projects that can needlessly harm the lake and will show how to reduce the environmental impacts of those activities.

The program is coordinated by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. After the general information phase, later phases of the program will focus on the ongoing efforts to reduce stormwater pollution by the Burlington Airport, University of Vermont, municipalities participating in RSEP, and the business and commercial sector. The educational program is part of an overall comprehensive stormwater permit effort required by federal law and embraced by the RSEP.

“Despite legal appeals of other aspects of the towns’ efforts, we are moving forward with the educational program because of its enormous importance to our communities and our own commitment to the program,” Lutz said.