Ahead of the Storm
Ahead of the Storm (AOTS) is the culmination of all programmatic areas in which Lewis Creek Association works. AOTS ties data collection, planning, restoration, and education together to act as a holistic tool for identifying and addressing water quality problems and habitat enhancement in the LaPlatte River watershed.
The goal of the AOTS program is to showcase examples of positive land stewardship throughout the LaPlatte watershed region. Ahead of the Storm strives to not only meet current water quality standards and permits, but surpass them when site conditions allow. These "Optimal Conservation Practices" (OCPs) act as a strategy for climate adaptation, and will be able to treat larger volumes of stormwater. Increased stormwater runoff from driveways, fields, parking areas and lawns is a major factor in the deterioration of our streams and lakes. The Ahead of the Storm introduction packet provides more background information and details. Visit our Resource Library to view the full suite of Ahead of the Storm materials currently available, including our guide “How To Manage Stormwater To Promote Healthier Watersheds”.
The Silver Street Rain Garden in Hinesburg after installation
Locations that have a high public profile and are easy to access, showcase a variety of land uses, and are based on water quality data collected by the South Chittenden River Watch (SCRW) are selected to be Ahead of the Storm sites. Sites with high nutrient pollution that drain large areas of land, and that are highly visible by the community, are selected to showcase how nutrient pollution can be mitigated on a range of land uses.
Currently, 17 demonstration sites are in design or implementation stages. Design plans, site details, and project costs are available so that these practices can be replicated by community members like you. Our Ahead of the Storm Story Map gives a brief overview of each site for some background.
CURRENT AOTS PROJECTS, 2024:
Wetland restoration when nearly complete. Photo credit: Jessica Louisos
LCA was excited to complete a wetland restoration project behind the United Church of Hinesburg. Thanks to funding from Watersheds United Vermont and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and the hard work of contractors K. Bellavance Landworks, we were able to turn a former wetland back into a beautiful natural wetland that will support pollinators and wildlife. View some of our press releases on this project to learn more, or stop by to see the project in person.
CURRENT AOTS PROJECTS, 2023:
Hollow Brook after bridge abutment removal and floodplain restoration. Photo credit: Jessica Louisos (See what this area looked like before in the photo below.)
LCA collaborated with Addison County Regional Planning Commission, who obtained funding from the Flood Resilient Communities Fund, to remove old bridge abutments and recreate a floodplain on Hollow Brook, a tributary to Lewis Creek. This project not only helped improve fish and other aquatic organism passage, but also reduced flood risk to the nearby manufactured home community. You can read more about the project here.
CURRENT AOTS PROJECTS, 2021:
Area above Sugarhouse Lane that may have old bridge abutments removed, which will reduce flooding risk in the nearby Lazy Brook Mobile Home Park. Photo credit: Jessica Louisos
LCA designed two new AOTS projects, one to help reduce flooding risk and improve water quality in Starksboro (on Hollow Brook, a tributary to Lewis Creek), and one to restore a wetland behind the United Church of Hinesburg (which collects water from impervious surface in Hinesburg to the LaPlatte River). You can read more about the Hollow Brook work here, or about the United Church of Hinesburg here. We also collaborated with the Charlotte Library to help them become an AOTS site; read more here.
CURRENT AOTS PROJECTS, 2020:
Restored floodplain at Hinesburg Town Garage.
LCA was thrilled to be able to complete the Beecher Hill Brook floodplain restoration project in the spring of 2020 with funding support from VT Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Hinesburg, and hard work by Milone & MacBroom and Dale E. Percy. View some of our press releases on this project to learn more, or drive by (Beecher Hill Rd. near the intersection of North Rd. in Hinesburg) to see the project in action!
LCA was excited to complete two projects on Champlain Valley School District campuses this year (especially challenging with COVID!). We are much indebted to CVSD, who helped fund these projects through paying for a portion of them, and providing some construction oversight with staff at each school. We installed a filter strip off the parking lot at Shelburne Community School, which will slow down and filter water before it reaches the swale (and provide a beautiful area for pollinators).
Filter strip at SCS, designed to slow water down as it flows off the parking lot, and filter it before it reaches the swale which eventually drains directly into McCabe’s Brook, then Lake Champlain.
CVU swale before (left) and after (right) improvements. We look forward to wildflowers growing in and beautifying this area of the campus, in addition to improving water quality flowing into Patrick Brook and the LaPlatte River!
At Champlain Valley Union High School, we improved a swale off the parking lot, which will now serve as a bio-retention area, and has been upgraded to hold more water. The culvert leading under the access road was also up-sized to pass larger storm events. See more details in our press releases.
CURRENT AOTS PROJECTS, 2019:
LCA was awarded three grants in spring 2019 from LCBP to advance our projects in the Ahead of the Storm program. The Shelburne Community School rain garden was completed at the end of June 2019! This project, begun in 2017, treats water runoff from the parking lot and roof at SCS, to improve water quality flowing into McCabe’s Brook then into Lake Champlain. Students and teachers were involved this fall in finishing plantings in the rain garden, and are receiving classroom time for education, under a separate education and outreach LCBP grant. Check out our article in the Shelburne News for more information on this project, or view these two short clips from WCAX news on the rain garden and the subsequent fall plantings.
The completed Shelburne Community School rain garden
Students at these schools, and others in the school district, received classroom visits in the fall of 2019 to educate them on stormwater and involve them in the final design of these projects (under an additional LCBP education and outreach grant awarded to LCA in 2019). This education/outreach grant resulted in a series of Powerpoints and materials to be used for educating students, and provided funding for training of community members and teachers in how to use this material and teach with it.
Finally, LCA recently completed a study, in conjunction with the town of Shelburne, to design water quality improvement projects in the Lower McCabe’s Brook watershed. This project looked at a variety of potential areas for water quality improvement projects, and chose those on two town-owned parcels adjacent to McCabe’s Brook to advance to a concept design. These sites are across Harbor Road from each other: at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Turtle Lane and at Davis Park on School Street. You can learn more about these two projects from this press release. We also began construction on the Beecher Hill Brook floodplain restoration project in Hinesburg. Get more information under our press releases on these topics!
Thanks to grant funding through the Lake Champlain Basin Program in 2018, Lewis Creek Association was able to summarize the AOTS demonstration site information into simple two-page summaries. We used these updated documents to develop two self-guided tours (in Charlotte and Hinesburg) and a survey that will help us track the effectiveness of the Ahead of the Storm program. If you want more detailed technical information, please visit the resource library to learn more about each demonstration site including site assessments, designs, and construction summaries.