Concluding Thoughts

This project, although somewhat tasking from a logistics perspective, has definitely been valuable in learning about the Winooski from both an aerial and detailed view.  I myself am now very familiar with the ecological and social effects of dam construction, and will definitely think twice when driving past a placid lake that precedes a dam.  I have also found that Vermonters especially are more aware of the concept of flood resilience and how this concept relates to the tradition and prevalence of small hydro-power dams in the state, especially after Hurricane Irene's devastation last year. This project has also reinforced the benefits (albeit limited in this case) of working in groups to achieve a more comprehensive understanding on a large concept, in this case the vast Winooski River.  By having multiple perspectives focused on what is vital or in need or attention, I feel that our analysis has considered briefly many aspects of the river.

Often times, working in a seven-person group isn't the easiest in regards to synthesizing information. In my opinion, the group emerged with general interest in the health, use, and impacts of the Winooski River and surrounding ecosystem. I realized that synthesizing information could be made easy when speaking of natural systems, because everything is intertwined. In analyzing the vast array of the uses, activities, and happenings of the Winooski River, the group was able to find that the health of the river affects all that the river is. For example, if the river is a refuge for fish, the river must be in good quality to support diverse fish habitat. If a fisherman seeks pleasure in the tranquility of fishing, he can only do so if the Winooski is fishable, habitable, and enjoyable. If a swimmer needs to cool off on a certain day, they can only do so if there isn't E.Coli or farm and fertilizer runoff that would adversely affect health. And if a farmer would like to keep land, instead of lose land, on his farm, then he won't plant crops all the way to the edge of the river (and he would therefore indirectly protect the river). Our group stopped and took a step back, because the Winooski River means so many different things to so many different people. We wanted to see the bigger picture, the multiple perspectives of the Winooski and the multitude of windows it provides Vermonters and citizens alike. 


-By Sam Smith and Evelina Nikolic, respectively

Introduction

Goals

We are going to identify several point source pollution areas and analyze their effects, both indirect and direct, on the river and the nearby watershed.

To identify and examine different steps taken to mitigate pollution along stretches of the river

Focus on buffer zones, fertilization times vs. rainfall trends.

To find data on the health of certain parts of the river (chemical tests), that hopefully will overlap with the point source areas we identify.

Evaluate the role that dams play in the river’s health/dynamics.

Examine what the river means to various people, their interactions with the river, and the impacts of pollution on what the river means.

Questions to Consider

Have these steps to mitigate pollution been effective? How do you define success? Is there a model from another river or watershed to base tactics off of? Or what makes the Winooski different?

How do people/businesses/ respond to pollution on the Winooski? Do farmers who live near these point sources care/take action? Why or why not?

How do people interact with the Winooski River? What does it mean to them? How can or does pollution affect their opinions and uses?

Contacts

Friends of the Winooski

Vermont River Conservancy- Steve Libby

Vermont Department of Agriculture

Farmers in the state

Various people we see utilizing the river, random opinions of people who know of the Winooski, and have interacted with it in some way.

The Winooski River

Shot from the pedestrian bridge at the VINS North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, Vermont.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmartine/50392534/

A Rivers Journey

Two weeks ago I went for a very early morning bike ride down Route 2 several miles before stopping with my fly rod and equipment for a meal and nap on a portion of the Winooski River. The section of the Winooski I enjoyed was right near the big bridge on I-89 over the river, at a sandy bend just out of sight and sounds from the highway, along Johnnie Brook Road. Here I made a sort of camp and began fishing. I didn’t have too much luck with the fish but the fish were not the primary goal of my travels. I really came to enjoy the banks of the river, see its sights and hear its sounds. What I found in the particular was, though beautiful less than pristine. I found a variety of trash and areas of eroded banks. This while saddening probably paled in comparison to the invisible damage incurred by the Winooski.

My route

 

A camp of sorts

The Winooski like all large rivers simply carries the material and physical wastes of to many humans and animals. Its large size means even harmless things become harmful when they are concentrated in one area rather than the 12 percent of Vermont they came from. It is for this reason that I feel sorry for the Winooski.

The Winooski River is an incredibly peaceful and beautiful river in many of its sections. It is however still marred by pollution and human activities in varying concentrations along its entire 90 mile length. I can only imagine beautiful, even entrancing it could be if the hands of humans had never touched its banks.

The quiet bend I decided to settle on

I love the Winooski because I love water and find a great sense of satisfaction being around it. I also appreciate immensely the service it does for us all. The Winooski drains our landscape, provides water for Lake Champlain and thus the city of Burlington, provides us with recreation areas, and even serves to boost mental health; yet we give it nothing but grief in return. It is time to realize the affects of our actions and take responsibility for the role we all have in the polluting of the Winooski River.

I found many different types of litter along the banks

Awareness can be fostered by stopping by the river every now and then just to see what’s up or enjoy its calm banks. I believe that we all need to get more in tune with nature if we ever hope to successfully live within it. Right now we have nearly all of us humans lost our touch with the system which support us and that needs to change if we ever hope to live fulfilling, healthy lives.  So go out, take an uncomfortable bike ride, spend some time with your greatest friend and after you finally make it home after realizing buses don’t run on Sunday you might even be happy you drunkenly did it.

Point- Source Pollution and You!

     The Winooski River is a vital artery draining a huge portion of Vermont and providing many services to humans and biota alike. While past ignorance has set the Winooski’s vitality back efforts are being made to slowly but surely make up for some of the past damage done. Dams are being removed, banks reinforced, and the neighbors of the Winooski are finally beginning to realize what goes on in their backyards and fields has a very real and direct affect on the quality of their environment and the resources it provides. Unfortunately there is a still a lot of work to be done. Erosion from the development of riparian areas and excessive nitrate and phosphorous pollution are continuing, and in some cases increasing issues in some areas. Beyond these non-point source pollutants the Winooski also faces threats from point source pollution though not nearly at the same river wide affects.

The Cabot Creamery located on the banks of the Winooski River

     In 2005 several gallons of ammonia were spilled from the Cabot Creamery and made their way into the upper Winooski resulting in the death of thousands of fish and macroinvertebrates on about a seven mile stretch or the river downstream of the factory. While the spill was found to be a result of negligence and not an intentional dump the damage was done and entire communities on that section of the Winooski were devastated. Even worse this incident has not been the only such accident at the Cabot factory. In 1983 a similar ammonia spill resulted in the death of the same stretch of river.

     As a result of this more recent spill the Cabot factory agreed to pay a 50,000 dollar fine as well as another 50,000 dollars to fund environmental projects. Cabot has also agreed to train workers to better handle hazardous chemicals like ammonia. Luckily according to local river guides and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife the river is slowly recovering. As the ammonia dissipated, local fish and macroinvertebrates returned to the area and after just a year or two after the spill the area has almost entirely restored itself to its previous condition. Fortunately the Winooski is a large river and it bounced back from its toxic exposure quickly. However this incident illustrates how the things we enjoy everyday (like cheese!) can indirectly affect the water systems like the Winooski which we all rely upon.

Sources:

 The Upper Winooski Recovers 

Cabot Creamery Ammonia Spill 

Basin 8: A closer look at some of the players involved

     The Winooski River stretches 90 miles from its headwaters in the town of Cabot to its mouth just north of Burlington yet its reach goes well beyond this winding line through the map. In fact the Winooski River is part of the larger Winooski River Basin or Basin 8 as it has been effectively and affectionately nicknamed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. It drains approximately 1,080 square miles or about 12 % of the state, exponentially increasing the importance of this 90 mile meandering line through the map.

     This line whose significance is all too often lost upon the inhabitants along its banks, represents the largest contributor freshwater into Lake Champlain but also the one of the largest contributors of reactive phosphates and the largest contributor of dissolved solids into Lake Champlain. The main reason for the Winooski’s heavy pollutant load is it drains the largest watershed entering the lake, but land usage in the watershed also has a strong effect on the elements discharged into the lake.

     A closer look at the land usage in the Winooski River Watershed shows that while most of the land remains forested (72.4 %) the second largest use by area is farming at 11.6 %. While this may at first seem like a trivial amount, when you consider that the next most prevalent land type in the watershed is open water at 4.7 % and that most of this farm land lies directly alongside the river and it tributaries it begins to become apparent just how large an effect farming has on the Winooski’s water quality.

     One of the major pollutants arising from farming alongside the Winooski or any river for that matter is dissolved solids coming from the erosion of banks once riparian borders have been cut down to increase the arable land for farmers. This phenomenon has been documented up and down the Winooski and is clearly visible in many of the photos posted in the blog by our group. It is no wonder that the Winooski contributes an estimated 140,000 tons of dissolved solids per year, or about a third of the total dissolved solids loading in the lake each year.

     The next major pollutant coming from the Winooski River is total phosphorous, or in other words all the phosphate, phosphorous, and nitrates potentially available to primary producers for nutrients. The Winooski River is the third largest contributor of total phosphorous with a total of 270,146 lbs annually. The Winooski along with four other major rivers is responsible for 58 % of the total load of phosphorous which enters the lake and annually, meaning that these major rivers could potentially play a big role in the reduction of total phosphorous introduction into Lake Champlain. Phosphates in high concentrations like those seen in the Winooski River generally come from fertilizers or animal waste spread by farmers but residential fertilizers and septic pollution also play a role.

Fig. 1. Algae bloom in Lake Champlain

     The introduction of phosphorous into the lake is of a particular concern because of the role it plays in the eutrophication of lakes. In Lake Champlain the lake can be divided into several water masses or “basins” and according to Henson and Potash in the 1976 study Materials Budgets of Lake Champlain the “a number of the peripheral embayments are showing indications of eutrophication.” This is of real concern in Lake Champlain where more recently toxic algal blooms and excessive aquatic plant growth have become real issues in some of the shallower basins (see Fig. 1.) 

     There is however hope for the waters of the Winooski and the greater Lake Champlain which they feed. With the help of the Clean Water Act and public support, organizations like the Vermont River Conservancy and the Vermont Natural Resources Council are working to repair riparian borders, enforce existing water quality standards, and create new policies aimed at strengthening regulations and creating incentive programs for protecting rivers.

Sources:

Materials budgets of Lake Champlain : a completion report to the Department of Interior, Office of Water Resources and Technology. E. B. Henson, Milton Potash. Burlington : Dept. of Zoology, University of Vermont, 1976. In Print.

The Vermont River Conservancy

 Vermont Natural Resources Council

 Recent Evidence of Eutrophication in Lake Champlain

"A Swimming Hole for Every Town"

In thinking about the Winooski, who better to interview than Steve Libby, executive director of the Vermont River Conservancy?  No one.  Evelina and I spoke with him about the health of the river, the various ways people use the river, and current conservation efforts being taken.  Here are some of his thoughts:

• Health
• Winooski River is in fairly good health; it's a lot better now then it was even 15 years ago, and especially since I was an undergrad here
• Back then, no one thought that river water wouldn't be cleaned, but with science and events like the fire on that river in Ohio, people are starting to pay more attention
• There are point some point source sites, but no river can escape human impact today
• Clean Water Act in the 70s pretty much stated that all water bodies should be swimmable and fishable.
• You wouldn't see people fishing everywhere along the Winooski if it were an impaired river. 
• Managing for fishable and swimmable rivers is realistic.
• 
  
• Recreation
• VRC focuses a lot on protecting the rights of recreationists so that they can always access the river or swimming hole!
• Helping landowners realize their rights and protecting them from potential lawsuits from recreationists-there are misplaced concerns about liability
• "The bad apple that spoils all"
• "The more access the better"
• There has been a cultural shift in how the land and the river are used- it's less about subsistence, and more about recreation 
• VRC is most interested in making sure people have access to the river, and this is an important issue because the more we can provide access, the better. 
• Conservation
• When VRC enters conservation easements with landowners, we require (usually) a 50 ft buffer zone and usually just let nature take its course. Many landowners are required to practice Best Management Practices on their land due to permits.
• There are no statewide buffer requirements
• New focus: Flood Resiliency
• White River watershed was more affected by Irene, but the Winooski still posed a serious problem in Waterbury and Richmond
• Irene also caused a massive influx of invasive species on many river bodies, including the Winooski. Friends of the Winooski group is working on getting rid of them. 
• Trying to focus more on land use planning and community zoning- community based efforts
• Collaboration with Friends of the Winooski- allows for multi-organizational perspectives on how best to manage (or not manage) the river!

Salmon Hole!

Evelina and I decided to adventure to Salmon Hole in Winooski to personally get to know the river.  Here are some pictures of our visit.

This culvert empties into the Winooski, crossing under Riverside Ave.  Although we didn't test the water, it probably is a point-source of pollution.

Fun activities at Salmon Hole.

This build up of debris could be attributed to beavers, or post-Irene deposition.  Now, it seems to be habitat for wildlife, such as muskrat.

The buffer zone here is minimal.

View from the parking area.

Evelina demonstrating the work of beavers.

This area, just down from Winooski Falls, is closed to fishing from March til May since it is spawning grounds for fish...most likely salmon (hence the name).

Relearning the Winooski River

On June 26 reporter, Molly Walsh, kayaked down theWinooski river following the huge flooding events that occurred in April 2011.Hunks of bank had collapsed. Downed trees laid on the shores and banks. Thewater they were paddling on was faded to a chocolate color and the turbidity ofthe water became a reminder of the tremendous amount of earth, sand and debristhat was carried down. The flooding from April 2011 surpassed any of the datathat has previously been recorded in Lake Champlain history. All the runoffalong the 90-mile Winooski River caused a drastic alteration of the riversappearance and more importantly water quality. In some parts of the river andespecially in smaller tributaries, the amount of water coursing through was 10,20, even 100 times more than normal due to record rain and the melting of heavysnow pack. The sediment the water carried scraped away gravel bars in certainspots, expanded sandbars in others and made deep pools shallower. On a singleday, April 26, the Winooski River discharged phosphorous equivalent to twotimes the annual amount discharged by all Vermont wastewater plants combinedinto the lake, according to the Lake Champlain Committee. This extra-largephosphorous dump could accelerate algae blooms that are choking some sectionsof Lake Champlain and take cleanup efforts backward. Phosphorus is the mainworry of the Friends of Winooski, Ann Smith, executive director of Friends ofWinooski, described due to the detrimental effect an increase of phosphorus canhave on Lake Champlain.

Relearning the Winooski River - Article Link

The Intervale

 Most degradation of the riparian habitat along the Winooski is due to agriculture, and because flood-plains are so fertile it is a prime area for farming. 

On interesting things is that farming in Vermont is definitely in a state of change. Large scale agriculture is being replace by smaller scale farms that grow a higher diversity of crops. Because local and organic foods have such a huge market in Vermont, the economy can accommodate this. 

To bring the social aspect of things into the picture, I think that the Burlington Intervail is doing great job of combining agriculture with riparian forests along the Winooski. The intervale is also a great example of these changes in agriculture that are taking place in the state. 

Although this is all great, the U.S. is by no means experiencing this as a nation and we are still dependent on industrial agriculture. So the Winooski may profit from less large scale ag. but other river systems, notably the Mississippi are hugely degraded by what is not becoming less of a problem in VT.  

http://intervalecenter.wordpress.com/

UVM professor Jeffery Huges and Susan Spackman published a paper in Biological Conservation in 1995 talking about the importance of corridor width along streams. They did the study on third and fourth order streams here in Vermont. 

They found that:

-Biodiversity in riparian zones is exceptionally high compared to terrestrial or aquatic sites alone. 

• In other words there is no standard corridor width that corresponds to stream size. 
• Larger river like the Winooski may need very large corridors to support maximum biological richness. 
• Because land-water interfaces become more complex as stream order increases, it follows that corridor width will increase but Huges and Spackman advise assessing this on a site by site basis. 

Basically riparian corridors are unique ecological areas. Silver maple flood plains are indicative of this and floodplain systems in general are often structurally and biological complex areas. They increase aquatic species richness as well as terrestrial richness. 

http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/assessment-of-minimum-stream-corridor-width-for-biological-dqmXmFnuMs?key=elsevier

Relearning the Winooski River

In her July 10, 2011 Burlington Free Press article, Molly Walsh describes her encounters on a 10-mile  kayaking trip with a group from the Friends of the Winooski on a stretch of the Winooski River from Winooski Falls to Lake Champlain. She first documents the strong current and the difficulty in maneuvering her white water kayak in the flooded Winooski. As the group traveled further and further downstream Walsh comments on how civilization seemed to fade away, and how it was easy to appreciate the beauty of the nature around her.

Later in the article Walsh notes signs of the flood: the murky water, fallen trees, eroded banks, etc., and how in one day, on April 26, the Winooski discharged 2/3's the annual amount of phosphorus. This was just one of many fun facts that the group's leader, naturalist Bradley Metaric, shared with the kayakers. Walsh learned that in some parts of the river, the volume of the water that courses through was up to 100 times its normal rate. This leads to faster movement of sediment, which leads to different spawning area's for fish, and therefore, the need to "relearn" the river.

At the end of Walshs' article, she posted a link for more information in the Winooski River:
www.winooskiriver.org

The link to the article is below:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110710/GREEN01/107100305/Relearning-Winooski-River

Winooski River Flooding from Irene

This was a short article written by a man from Waterbury named David Goodman, in which he describes his personal experience from Tropical Storm Irene. Goodman begins his article by describing his tight knit community of Waterbury, and how neighbor looked out for each other during the storm and when the Winooski washed through, while the nationally media focused mostly on New York City. His sons local elementary school was turned into a shelter for people who sought refugee from the flood waters.

Goodman then goes on to describe the recover effort and how the community came together. Sport teams from the local high school worked together to clean out people houses of mud and other debris. One resident of Randall Street commented "I don't even know the people that are working so hard to clean my house."

To conclude the article Goodman referenced the flood of 1927 that claimed  84 lives. Gleason Ayers was ten years old at the time of the flood, and experienced the power of the Winooski a second time. Gleason's words of advice for Goodman were to stop worrying about the future and take each day at a time, and to come together as a community, much like they were starting to do.

Interview with Abbi Pajak (Medium Farm Operations, Vermont Department of Agriculture)

Q: Are there any regulations regarding fertilizing and periods of high rainfall?

A: First off no manure (on SFOs and LFOs) or manure or fertilizer (on MFOs) may be spread during the winter spreading ban which runs from December 15 to April 1st of each year.
According to the 590 standard for fields within the floodplain (excluding grass and no till cropland) manure must be incorporated within 24hours.
Farm fields that have been identified as high in Nitrate leaching Index (part of 590 NMP)must also adhere to additional rules as follows;
**** 10 Inches (HIGH) - Requires intense nitrogen management to minimize nitrate movement, including: careful management of applied nitrogen, avoidance of fall spreading on bare ground or dormant crop, precise timing to match crop utilization, conservation practices that restrict water percolation and leaching, and cover crops that capture and retain nutrients in the upper soil profile. Additional nitrogen management requirements include the following actions:
• For row and cereal crops, including corn, maintain starter fertilizer nitrogen rates below 50 lbs/acre actual nitrogen under normal conditions.
• Evaluate the need for sidedress nitrogen applications on corn based on PSNT or other soil nitrate-nitrogen tests.
• Do not incorporate sod crops in the Fall and chemical herbicide treatment of sod shall not be carried out until soil temperatures at 4 inches are below 45OF (October 1st or later).**** Additionally, all field applications of manure and fertilizer should be in accordance with the results of soil tests taken for all fields.

Q: What steps are taken to reduce fertilizer runoff into streams such as the Winooski?

A:In addition to the requirements described above used to restrict application on high risk fields, the VT regulations require buffers on fields that border surface water, please read over the AAP?MFO/LFO rules for specifics, however generally speaking a minimum of 10 feet is required on SFOs and 25 feet required on larger farms.

The links Abbi provided are list below:

http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AAPs.htm

http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/MFO_Rule_000.htm

http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/LFO.html

http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/references/public/VT

This is a prime example of extreme bank erosion. This is photo of a farm on Mallets Bay Avenue. Farmers used to think it a good idea to remove all of the trees and shrubs from their to increase the hay yields. Absent the much needed root systems this farmers field is on its way to the bottom of the lake.








This is not the exact bank from my first post but this is very close to what it looked like prior to the restoration.











These banks are very sandy and so the phosphorus loading is minimal. But still the sand destroys much needed habitat for fish.

Notice large chunks of sod being deposited into the river.

Pics of Winooski

This photo to my left is of the corner just East of the boat launch on Windermere way on the Winooski river. The bank is approximately 75 feet high. The rivers bank has been reinforced with rock on the bottom and what looks like some sort of fascine above it. This is new just finished earlier this year. Before the reinforcement the sand embankment was eroding quite significantly into the river. If you notice the closeness of the banks edge to the proximity to the home owners house you will probably understand why this reinforcement was done.

This photo was taken at the intervale. Just South of the railroad bridge. This is an example of what I would call near perfect spawning grounds. Notice the round pebbles all in the one to two inch diameter size. The fish dig hole into this river bottom and deposit their eggs.

This is an example of less than ideal spawning grounds. Notice silt deposition. Now some of this deposition can come from upstream. But in my experience the source is usually close by. An eroded bank is the usual suspect.

The suspect mentioned above is captured here in this photograph. The absence of foliage on the ground specially trees and shrubs allows for fast erosion of the banks.

Here is salmon I caught just South of the spawning grounds. These salmon follow schools of alewives (invasive species) and smelt (if there are any left) into the river in spring. The alewives and salmon enjoy eating fresh roe which is abundant in the early spring on the spawning beds.

Land Use and Flow Regimes Effect on Phosphorus

TheWinooski River is one of the largesttributaries to Lake Champlain and thus plays a major role in Lake Champlain’sWater quality. In this study, Land use and flow regime effects on phosphoruschemical dynamics in the fluvial sediment of the Winooski River, Vermont, the objective was to determine if land useand flow regime influenced whether Winooski River sediments acted as a sink orsource of phosphorus entering into Lake Champlain. Phosphorus is the leadingcause to algal blooms, an increasing problem in Lake Champlain, and is animportant element to study and track to see how changes in a river can changephosphorus levels.

To better understand the transport, storage, and cycling ofphosphorus within the Winooski River, this study examined the chemistry,bioavailability and processes controlling sediment phosphorus release to watersof the Winooski River.

To see if flow regimes and land use had an affect on phosphorusrelease this experiment paid particular attention to the role of artificiallyconstructed flow regimes in engineered impoundments in comparison to thenatural flow regimes of river and reservoir sites. Also, the influence ofdifferent land use adjacent to the river was highlighted, since intensive landuse is known to increase phosphorus loads.

The results of the experiment showed that phosphorusconcentration was significantly greater in impoundment sediments than in eitherreservoir or river sediments. Demonstrating that there is a strong influence offlow regimes and water hydraulics that affected the chemical properties of thesediment in the Winooski River. Also, sediments adjacent to agricultural landhad a significantly greater concentration of phosphorus than sediments adjacentto forested land. Therefore, the input and delivery of finesediment enriched with phosphorus was also influenced by adjacent land use. Itis clear from this experiment that both flow regimes and land use play a majorrole in soils ability to retain or release phosphorus and the overall health,of not only the Winooski River, but Lake Champlain as well.

Land use and flow regime effects on phosphorus chemical dynamics in the fluvial sediment of the Winooski River, Vermont

Dams Along the Winooski

Dams have historically played a huge presence in Vermont since the state is chock full of rivers to take advantage of.  Since rivers offer a relatively simple method of generating electricity, dozens of dams have been constructed throughout history in villages to power mills. Some of the nearby dams include ones in Essex, Winooski, Waterbury, and even smaller dams in Marshfield and Plainfield.  Once built, they have much to offer to the local people, but also present plenty of problems to the organisms that inhabit the river and nearby area. According to the VT River Quality organization, “the loss of turbulent flow may reduce dissolved oxygen concentration,” create a more lake-like habitat, as well as alter the habitat of nearly all organism that inhabit the river.  Spawning habitat often disappears or is physically blocked by the sheer size of a dam across a river, and the geomorphology and natural dynamics are altered.  These effects on geomorphology and hydrology are particularly important when considering the impacts of floods on dams, as Steve Libby from the VRC pointed out.  It is always interesting to see how human made structures react to the wrath that is Mother Nature, and the catastrophic floods that have hit Vermont both in 1927 and again last year are a perfect example. Dams "deny rivers their ability to meander and access their floodplains" which normally dissipates the abundant energy present in a river, and thus carries accumulated sediment and nutrients straight into reservoirs such as Lake Champlain and feeding algae blooms.  When floods occur in stream channels like this that humans have restricted, greater amounts of bed and bank erosion occur, setting up for "a never-ending cycle" of larger floods occurring and even more structures being built to attempt to contain the river.  
   
Somewhat unfortunate, the large quantity of small dams constructed in quaint Vermont towns has also given rise to a sentimental cultural value associated with their historic character, which makes removal of them subject to much controversy.  In most cases, dams are not economically viable anymore but add to the aesthetic charm of the town.  Limited efforts are being made to remove dams, but it is often difficult to predict how the restored natural dynamics of the river will affect the houses, etc that are close by.

You can see some of the physical impacts that dams have had on the Winooski River in the below photographs.

Winooksi River at Essex, Pre-Dam

Winooski at Essex, Post Dam
Essex Dam during Flood, Nov. 4, 1927

Winooski Upper Falls, post dam circa 1908

Winooski Falls, pre- lower falls dam

Aerial View of Winooski, 1927 flood

Caption: "River Scene, the Sinking of the Winooski- Burlington Bridge, Nov. 4, 1927"

Sign posts say: (top post) Winooski river

(bottom post) Winooski, Burlington

"Winooski-B Bridge Flood Scene", Nov. 4, 1927

Aerial View 1927, near Ft. Allen
Aerial View, Williston Railroad Bridge Nov. 11, 1927

Although historically dams have been favored and sought after to construct because of their lack of emissions in our increasingly polluted world, the tide has turned (at least in the US) away from new construction. Not only are dams extremely expensive, but the environmental and energetic factors associated with them, including their growing inefficiency in light of new technology, has halted the formally intense construction of them.

I decided to look further into the sociological role that dams play on the Winooski. Various people interact with the river every day, including recreationists (kayakers, swimmers, anglers, etc), energy companies, farmers, and businesses that directly impact the river.

Kayakers and canoeists typically do not see the numerous dams across the river favorably. As evidenced on the Winooski Valley Park District guide to paddling the river, it is clearly a nuisance to paddle a river like the Winooski that has to be broken up into so many parts to complete the entire stretch. This involves frequent portages and added time onto trips that could otherwise be spent paddling. Kayakers love the river, but often view dams negatively because of the added time on. Of course, sentiments such as these are also echoed (rather intensely) by the likes of George Hayduke and Seldom Smith, a recreation rafting guide in The Monkey Wrench Gang by Ed Abbey, who simply see the beauty and wild nature of rivers destroyed when impediments like the Glen Canyon Dam are constructed.  This is one of the reasons why Steve Libby, executive director of the Vermont River Conservancy, is working on a project with Friends of the Winooski that would create access points along the length of the river for paddlers to make (legal and safe) places to portage around dams, and camp if they desire.

Guide to Paddling the Winooski

Citations

VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation. (2007). How a dam affects a river. Retrieved from website: http://www.vtwaterquality.org/rivers/htm/rv_dameffects.htm

Libby, S. (2012, April 6). Interview by SS, EN [Personal Interview].

Winooski Valley Park District. (n.d.). Winooski river canoe and kayak maps. Retrieved from website: http://www.wvpd.org/canoemaps.htm

“Living in Harmony with Streams: A Citizen’s Handbook to How Streams Work”. Prepared by Friends of the Winooski, White River Natural Resources Conservation District, Winooksi Natural Resources Conservation District. 2012.

Photographs and Post Cards- Courtesy of UVM Special Collections

How Do YOU See the Winooski?

In exploring the Winooski River, I have come to notice that even the environment is viewed in vastly different ways in Vermont. The Winooski River, which runs from Cabot to Colchester, is a prime example. Below is an image of the Winooski River watershed. As you can see, it encompasses all of Washington County, half of Chittenden County, and portions of Lamoille and Orange Counties. It’s the largest river tributary to Lake Champlain! So, people who live in the watershed, whether they border the river or live 15 miles away, have an impact not only on the river but also ultimately on Lake Champlain. This is one of the major reasons why the effects of pollution on the Winooski and efforts to mitigate them are so important.

One of the main conservation organizations in the northeast of Vermont is Friends of the Winooski (FOW), a nonprofit conservation group that strives to “restore and protect the Winooski River and its tributaries.” It focuses on improving water quality, pollution abatement, riparian buffer restoration, and landowner outreach among a plethora of other aims. Our group is interested in the health of the Winooski, particularly locally, so the interactive water quality monitoring Google Map that the Friends of the Winooski made has been eye opening. They monitor several locations near the headwaters in Cabot and the middle section near Plainfield and Montpelier. Explore the map and see how the health of the Winooski fares near you!

Friends of the Winooski Monitoring Map

I decided to explore the complex role that dams also play in the health and physiology of a river. In Vermont, there are around 200 dams, some of which are quite old and some of which are newer and still provide electricity for the state. Since Friends of the Winooski is especially concerned with the chemical health of the Winooski, you can see on the Google map how they took samples last June-August for the E.coli bacteria. The results are listed as the # bacteria/100 mL of water using the EPA approved IDEXX method, and it is interesting to note that Vermont has the “strictest standards in the nation.” This means that the maximum # bacteria for safe swimming conditions are 77/100 mL of water. Of course, different abiotic and biotic factors make the river more welcoming or inhospitable to these organisms.

Let me draw your attention to several of the monitored sites on this map. Since we are interested in the effects dams have on river health, areas above and below the hydro dam in Marshfield were examined. You can see that actually the results indicate that the river was healthier below the dam.

However, there is also a dam in Plainfield that counters the data from Marshfield. In Plainfield, if you click on the magenta icon that says “Winooski River, 71.4” with a sub-heading of “Below dam, above Great Brook,” you can see that the results were already at enormously dangerous levels in late June and skyrocketed into August, with a spike in late July that was almost 20 times the “safe” limit. The results of another monitoring site “Winooski 71.5” above the dam are a bit healthier, although also with an extremely dangerous spike in number of bacteria in July. Often the summer months harbor more bacteria because they thrive in warmer water temperatures, but usually spikes like these are due to large rainstorms that flood the lake with water that has poured across all sorts of impervious surfaces and forest, bringing along an abundance of bacteria. There was most likely a rainstorm a day or two before the third round of testing was performed, leading to the elevated levels. It usually takes a few days for everything to settle before it is safe to swim again.  In general however, dams slow the flow of water on both sides, lower water temperatures, and increase sediment and nutrients in rivers- all factors that potentially can positively impact bacteria like e.coli.  Thus, it is vital to analyze the validity of having dams along the Winooski still, when in most cases they are not as economically viable as they were in the 1800s.

Citations

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, (2008). Winooski river basin and major sub-basins.. Retrieved from website: http://www.vtwaterquality.org/planning/docs/pl_basin8.colormap.pdf 

Friends of the Winooski. (2012). Winooski watershed. Retrieved from http://winooskiriver.org/index.php

(2011). Winooski river monitoring. (2011). [Web Map]. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210568646831738140547.0004a6c7efe7d141e3d87&msa=0

Winooski Dam Water Quality Testing

On March 25^th water samples were collected above and below the dam in Winooski. The water samples collected are currently being tested to identify the different substances found in the water. The results from the two water samples will allow us to see if dams play a role in water quality.