BLUE Stormwater Program Completes Nearly 100 Site Visits in 2024

By Michelle Lockhart
January 09, 2025

During 2024, the Lake Champlain Sea Grant BLUE program completed nearly 100 site assessments—81 in Burlington and 17 in Williston, Vermont. BLUE is a residential green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) program that supports and facilitates the installation of GSI practices. In partnership with the City of Burlington and Town of Williston, BLUE distributes available rebate funding to support the installation of rain gardens, permeable pavers, dry wells, and other measures that help encourage stormwater to infiltrate into underlying soils and reduce the amount of run-off carrying sediment and other pollutants into local waterways such as the Winooski River and Lake Champlain.  Cross-section of a typical home rain garden developed by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

2024 was the first full season BLUE site visits were conducted in Williston resulting in two homeowners installing GSI projects next spring. A proposed rain barrel for one property will allow homeowners to re-use rainwater to irrigate plants and wash cars or outdoor furniture. Another Williston resident is preparing to install a rain garden using the 2021 Rain Garden Manual for Vermont and the Lake Champlain Basin as a design guide. Rain gardens are landscaped depressions planted and designed to allow stormwater to collect and infiltrate into underlying soils during a storm. 

In Burlington, eleven residents moved forward with the following stormwater projects: 

  • Removal of a front entry concrete walkway in favor of a stepping stone path which allows water to infiltrate around each stone 
  • The transition from an old, cracked concrete driveway to a smaller driveway which reduced the amount of impervious surface on the property and made room for planting beds now full of sunflowers 
  • A dry well installed to help protect the foundation of a home and prevent excess run-on from a neighboring apartment roofline from making it into the street 
  • A paved driveway transitioned to a permeable driveway with 3 different shades of beautiful red-hued pavers 
  • A permeable paver pathway alongside a rock-lined drainage swale capturing stormwater run-off from an adjacent paved parking area 
  • Two rain barrels installed to capture roofline run-off and store water for irrigating backyard garden beds 
  • Gutter extenders that direct roofline flow away from impervious surfaces such as the driveway and instead toward stable, lawn areas 
  • A driveway trench drain that catches water from a garage roofline and sends it via PVC piping to a backyard dry well 
  • An infiltration trench filled with washed drainage stone which allows water falling from an above roofline to drain into underlying soils 
  • Gutters installed along a roofline to direct water away from the driveway and toward the backyard where stormwater can properly drain 
  • Gutters installed along a roofline to direct water away from a front yard sloping toward the street to a large side-yard lawn where a native tree may be planted to encourage infiltration 

Homeowners received a total of $12,180 in rebates for the above projects through the City of Burlington and Lake Champlain Sea Grant’s BLUE stormwater program. These projects helped manage runoff from over 7,400 sq. feet of impervious area, reducing the amount of run-off into local waterways and alleviating stress in flood-prone areas. 

If you or someone you know is interested in being added to the waitlist for next season’s site visits, view the BLUE Burlington & Williston webpages. BLUE staff are excited to continue working with residents next year on custom stormwater solutions.