The Department of Environmental Conservation has approved a new plan to improve water quality in Lake Champlain.
The Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages Tactical Basin Plan compiles over two years of work focused on the health of the basin and development of targeted actions to remediate and protect surface waters.
High levels of sediment and pollutants, invasive aquatic species and potentially toxic algal blooms threaten many lakes, rivers, and streams in the Lake Champlain Basin.
The new tactical basin plan, one of many water quality improvement plans throughout the state, addresses the smaller watersheds that drain directly to the northern half of Lake Champlain, but excludes the larger northern watersheds such as the Missisquoi, Lamoille and Winooski Rivers.
The plan prioritizes protection of river corridors that increase flood resilience, promotes improvements of lakeshore and wetland habitat along Lake Champlain and Lake Iroquois, and supports both short- and long-term monitoring programs, including those in Allen Brook and Malletts Creek.