Lewis Creek Association is excited to announce that thanks to funding from Watersheds United Vermont and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) Clean Water Fund, we have nearly completed the conversion of a playing field behind the United Church of Hinesburg (UCH) back to a wetland! The restored area now includes native shrubs and trees that will support pollinators and other species, while also improving water quality.
The water that flows through this area of the village of Hinesburg moves generally from east to west, draining into a ditch north of the UCH and, after making two 90 degree turns, into the LaPlatte River (which drains into Lake Champlain at Shelburne Bay). It picks up stormwater from several residential developments, businesses, churches, and a portion of Route 116. This area of Hinesburg has been identified in two past studies as an important area for water quality improvement. Historic channel straightening, ditching and berming, filling of wetlands, and altered flow from stormwater runoff contribute to channel instability. The area behind the UCH was part of a larger wetland complex that had been converted to agriculture and then into playing fields. Wetlands are critical to maintaining water quality, allowing water to be naturally cleaned by wetland plants before heading downstream. This fall, contractors K. Bellavance Landworks tilled the lawn under, regraded it to allow water to flow through the wetland in a more natural path, laid in rocks and logs across the depression to slow the water down, and planted native trees, shrubs, and wetland seeds. Next year (after the plants have fully established), the berm that is holding water in the existing ditch will be removed, allowing the wetland to accept and clean up water from the upstream area. Restoring the wetland will help to keep the stressed LaPlatte River from becoming impaired due to phosphorus, which contributes to harmful cyanobacteria blooms and fish die-offs in Lake Champlain. VT DEC Clean Water funds allowed earlier project development and design phases to be completed.
The area’s proximity to town playing fields and Town Hall in the center of the village will allow it to function as an Ahead of the Storm demonstration project, showcasing water quality issues and habitat improvement through restoration. You can learn more about the problem and what landowners can do to improve water quality in a brief 17-minute presentation LCA’s website at https://bit.ly/lca-wq-videos. These include things like slowing water down, spreading it out, and sinking it into the ground (“the three S’s” that are central to LCA’s Ahead of the Storm program. You can learn more about the Ahead of the Storm program at https://bit.ly/lca-aots). It is crucial that we all do our part to improve to water quality in small ways, in order to improve Lake Champlain’s water quality and beauty, and to protect the animals and plants that live in our rivers and streams.