Stormwater Consults Free to Lake Champlain Basin Residents

Controlling stormwater runoff before it leaves your property and enters a lake or stream can make a huge difference in reducing flooding or erosion, protecting water quality, and preventing toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms that close swimming beaches.

If you live in the Lake Champlain basin, you can sign up for a stormwater consultation through the BLUE stormwater mitigation program. The evaluations are free, courtesy of the Lake Champlain Sea Grant program. Rebates of up to $200 are available for residents of Williston and up to $300 for Colchester residents for work completed by December 31, 2020.

Evaluators will work with eligible property owners to provide information on good stewardship to protect waterways and help identify opportunities for implementing green stormwater infrastructure practices. These include gutter systems, infiltration systems, vegetative swales, rain gardens, permeable paving, and rain barrels, among other options.

Stormwater runoff occurs when rain and snowmelt don't soak into the ground but instead flow over impervious surfaces such as driveways and paved streets. If not controlled, runoff may accumulate debris, fertilizers, pet waste, sediment, or other pollutants that could adversely impact nearby waterways. 

Learn more about BLUE or schedule a consultation. To determine if you reside in one of the 12 watersheds in the Lake Champlain basin, view this map of Lake Champlain's watersheds. 

Lake Champlain Sea Grant is hosted by the University of Vermont (UVM) in partnership with the State University of New York Plattsburgh. It operates with additional support and collaboration with UVM Extension and several state and local organizations including BLUE, which has operated in the Lake Champlain basin for more than a decade.