Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Using Diatoms To Reconstruct Eutrophication In Lake Carmi, Vt, Margaret Polifrone, Sarah Wasserman, Ismar Biberovic, Kaleb Jones, Andrew Schroth, Andrea Lini, Ana Morales-Williams

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

No abstract provided.

Best Lawn Care Practices, Lake Champlain Sea Grant

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Lawn care practices that contribute to a healthy lawn and better water quality are described.

Programs in Burlington, Vermont, are described.

Stormwater Subsurface Gravel Wetlands In Vermont: Permitting, Performance, And Chloride Concerns, Watershed Consulting Associates, Llc, University Of Vermont

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Subsurface gravel wetlands (SGW) are water treatment practices that utilize a saturated bed of gravel and (sometimes) wetland vegetation to filter incoming water and remove pollutants through a combination of physical filtration, adsorption, biological uptake, and microbial transformation. Water level is controlled by an outlet structure to retain a permanent subsurface pool, providing retention of stormwater volume in addition to pollutant removal. SGW are becoming increasingly popular tools for stormwater treatment in Vermont.

A varied group of partners including academic researchers, municipal stormwater managers, and consulting designers and engineers, have identified questions around stormwater gravel wetland performance as significant in …

Shining Light On The Storm: Using High-Frequency Optical Water Quality Sensors To Characterize And Interpret Storm Nutrient And Carbon Dynamics Among Contrasting Land Uses, Matthew Ch Vaughan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Elevated nutrient concentrations present significant challenges to surface water quality management globally, and dissolved organic matter mediates several key biogeochemical processes. Storm events often dominate riverine loads of nitrate, phosphorus, and dissolved organic matter, and are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in many regions due to climate change. The recent development of in situ optical sensors has revolutionized water quality monitoring and has highlighted the important role storms play in water quality. This dissertation focuses on improving the application of in situ optical water quality sensors and interpreting the high-frequency data they produce to better understand biogeochemical and …

Governing Water Quality Limits In Agricultural Watersheds, Courtney Ryder Hammond Wagner

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The diffuse runoff of agricultural nutrients, also called agricultural nonpoint source pollution (NPS), is a widespread threat to freshwater resources. Despite decades of research into the processes of eutrophication and agricultural nutrient management, social, economic, and political barriers have slowed progress towards improving water quality. A critical challenge to managing agricultural NPS pollution is motivating landowners to act against their individual farm production incentives in response to distant ecological impacts. The complexity of governing the social-ecological system requires improved understanding of how policy shapes farmer behavior to improve the state of water quality. This dissertation contributes both theoretically and empirically …

Edge-Of-Field Hydrology And Nutrient Fluxes Within Northeastern Agroecosystems: Evaluation Of Alternative Management Practices And Water Quality Models, Cameron Robert Twombly

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sediment affecting freshwater systems in watersheds across the Northeastern U.S., including the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Agricultural cropping systems, such as corn silage and haylands, used for dairy feed production have been shown to impact watershed hydrology and water quality. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have the potential to decrease runoff volumes and flow rates and the associated export of nutrients and sediment from agricultural fields. Many states in the Northeastern U.S., including Vermont, are beginning to require farmers to implement water quality BMPs and further …

New Insights For The Future Of Lake Champlain: Practical Approaches And Useful Tools For Grappling With Uncertainty And Weighing Trade-Offs In Watershed Management., Philip Halteman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The effective management of non-point source nutrient pollution continues to prove elusive. Though the scientific literature is unequivocal that all anthropogenic land uses contribute to non-point source (NPS) pollution, variable levels of contribution over time and across location and complex relationships between cost and effect make finding technologically effective management solutions difficult. In addition, these solutions are implemented in a world of scarce resources, diverse and often competing concerns and values, and intense public scrutiny. Clearly, making the best possible decision about how to manage NPS pollution under these conditions is not simple. My overarching goal was to develop and …

Master's Project: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Best Management Practices On Rural Backroads Of Vermont: A Retrospective Assessment And Cost Analysis, Joanne S. Garton

Rubenstein School Masters Project Publications

Repeated erosion of over 7,000 miles of unpaved roads in Vermont is degrading water quality and draining limited town budgets. Best Management Practices (BMPs), including stone-lined ditches, turn outs, check dams, revetments, culverts and vegetative controls, are recommended by the Vermont Department of Transportation as low cost means of reducing the sediment and phosphorous run-off from backroads. However, their effectiveness, longevity and cost benefit are unknown. To address this gap, I assessed 100 BMPs at 43 erosion control projects constructed between 2005 and 2012 with funding from the Vermont Better Backroads program. BMP condition was compared to environmental factors that …