Wake of the Flood: A Lake Champlain Report

New York Almanack Article - July 28, 2023

By Lori Fisher, Executive Director for the Lake Champlain Committee

It has been two weeks since flooding devastated many communities in the Lake Champlain watershed and throughout the states of New York and Vermont. The heavy rains lasted for days and sent rivers and streams over their banks, pouring into homes and businesses and carrying a swill of debris, nutrients, sediment, untreated wastewater, chemicals, and more into Lake Champlain.

If you live in an area not directly affected it may be hard to understand the monumental impact. In some areas nine inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours. Businesses and homes have been destroyed, lives upended, and the ecological toll keeps rising. Wastewater treatment facilities overflowed, a sewer main broke under the Winooski River sending hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater into the river and Lake Champlain, and debris ranging from trees to tires have swept into the lake.

People are grappling with boiled water orders, crop loss, road closures, and condemned buildings.?Our hearts go out to all affected.

Lake Champlain is fed by an 8,234 square mile watershed. What happens on the land mass influences lake health. Many of the tributaries that flow into the lake carried a heavy load of debris (trees, tires, and propane tanks have all been observed floating in from the storm surge), contaminants and pathogens from failed wastewater facilities and residential septic systems, and high levels of nutrients and sediment from farm fields, streambanks and washed out dirt roads.

Early estimations are that Lake Champlain received a year’s worth of phosphorus loading from the event and that some rivers delivered more phosphorus to Lake Champlain during the July 2023 flood than during all of 2022. The high water levels and heavy flows mean fast moving currents. There’s also potential for contaminant and bacteria exposure. The extra sediment will increase turbidity and decrease water clarity until there are several days in a row without storms or high winds. In the short term we are likely to see a reduction of blooms as cyanobacteria are flushed out or diluted and the sediment decreases available light. However, the dramatic load of nutrients will likely fuel bloom production in the coming weeks and possibly for the remainder of the summer. Other potential impacts include shoreline erosion from water levels and wave action, fish kills from contaminants and reduced dissolved oxygen, and the spread of invasive species to new areas.

Recreational Risks & Cautions

Check local conditions carefully before heading into the water. Fast-moving currents, debris, E.coli contamination, and cyanobacteria blooms are all potential after effects from the July 2023 flood. Even under normal circumstances the Vermont Department of Health advises to wait 48 hours after a storm before going into the water. Pay attention to posted information at public beaches and other swim areas. High water levels make shoreline areas more susceptible to erosion. If you’re operating a motorboat, move at low speeds until water levels are at normal levels.

Resources

Below are some links to resources and guidance on flood recovery or ways to help:

In New York

Checklist & Resources for Repairing Your Flooded Home – NY Dept. of Health

Disaster & Flood Recovery Resources – NY Dept. of Env. Conservation

Safety & Emergency Alerts – State of New York

Special & Urgent Needs Fund – Adirondack Foundation

In Vermont

Flood Recovery Resources – VT Agency of Natural Resources

Safety & Emergency Alerts – VT Emergency Management

Staying Safe in a Flood – What to do Before, During, and After – VT Dept. of Health

(available in multiple languages)

VT Flood Resources, Assistance, & Referrals – State of Vermont

VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund – VT Community Fund

VT PoC – Flood Relief – Offering Mutual Aid to the BIPOC Community – The VT Professionals of Color Network

VT Volunteer Portal – State of Vermont

For a more complete list of resources and ways to assist, check out the helpful guide put together by our friends at the VT Association of Conservation Districts. The Lake Champlain Committee’s Lessons from the Floods publication, written in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, is a downloadable PDF and a useful tool for building community resilience.

You can also listen to a podcast on Vermont Public to learn more about Why Vermont streams have become more powerful – and how that fuels devastating flooding.

Rays of Hope

In the wake of the July 2023 flood destruction volunteers and donated goods are flowing into affected communities with a force and momentum equal to the storm surge. It is heartening to see so many people reaching out and stepping up. That community spirit is critical now and it will be in the months and years ahead as we work to recover.

We are seeing the direct effects of the climate crisis in our region. The July 2023 flood came 12 years after Tropical Storm Irene (the State of Vermont completed its last recovery project from that disaster just a few months ago) and less than four years after the 2019 Halloween storm. The Winooski and the Lamoille Rivers crested higher during this recent event than during Tropical Storm Irene.

This will not be the last big storm or flood in the Lake Champlain watershed. The sewer main that broke under the Winooski River was built in the 1950s — at a time when the July 2023 flooding was not conceivable. But that is no longer the reality we face. While we’ve made important headway in advancing regulations, policies, and protections since Tropical Storm Irene swept through the region, there’s much more to be done. And that work will take an active, engaged community. Let’s keep the momentum of caring that’s showing up with such force in the wake of the July 2023 floods going for the work ahead."

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Lori Fisher is the Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Committee which has a history of nearly 60 years as the region’s only bi-state non-profit organization dedicated to Lake Champlain health and accessibility. To learn more about the Committee visit their website.