Contractor Tips & Printable Guides
Contractors who work on shoreland property often work mostly on properties away from lakes and streams. They often are simply unaware of how they should modify their typical practices when working near shorelines (e.g. raise the cutting height of their lawn mower to 3-4" and mow less often). Educating contractors on Best Management Practices (BMPs) will help improve the health of Lake Fairlee.
Below you will find useful tips and guides which you can print and hand to contractors that work on your property. Alternatively, you can download these tips and guides and email this information.
Below you will find useful tips and guides which you can print and hand to contractors that work on your property. Alternatively, you can download these tips and guides and email this information.
LAKE-FRIENDLY YARD MAINTENANCE
Simple yard and garden maintenance practices that can save time, effort, and money, and help keep lake waters safe for people, pets, and wildlife. For all homeowners, managers, and landscapers that maintain lakeshore properties to reduce or eliminate stormwater runoff and pollutants that enter the lake from lawns, gardens, driveways, pets, and household practices.
Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Lake-Friendly Yard Maintenance
Simple yard and garden maintenance practices that can save time, effort, and money, and help keep lake waters safe for people, pets, and wildlife. For all homeowners, managers, and landscapers that maintain lakeshore properties to reduce or eliminate stormwater runoff and pollutants that enter the lake from lawns, gardens, driveways, pets, and household practices.
Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Lake-Friendly Yard Maintenance
TREE THINNING AND PRUNING
A wooded shoreland is essential for a healthy lake ecosystem. Most of the lake’s wild species spend all or some of their life close to shore. Tree roots hold the bank together and protect against erosion while branches shade the shallow waters.
Tree thinning and pruning is allowed as long as it meets the Vermont Shoreland Protection Act's Vegetation Protection Standards (VPS):
A wooded shoreland is essential for a healthy lake ecosystem. Most of the lake’s wild species spend all or some of their life close to shore. Tree roots hold the bank together and protect against erosion while branches shade the shallow waters.
Tree thinning and pruning is allowed as long as it meets the Vermont Shoreland Protection Act's Vegetation Protection Standards (VPS):
- Vegetative cover within 100 feet of the mean water level must be managed according to the VPS point and grid system. This system allows for selective thinning of shoreland vegetation, allowing a landowner to remove individual trees for a view, while still preserving the ecological benefits of a forested shoreland.
- Pruning branches from the lower one-third of a tree’s height is allowed. This process can provide views through the trees while preserving the canopy that slows down raindrops, limiting erosion.
- To see if your tree work along the lakeshore requires a permit, Use the Shoreland ProjectWorksheet to determine if your residential tree work project requires a permit or registration (a simplified permitting process for smaller projects).
BANK STABILIZATION: Best Managment Practices (BMPs)
Bank stabilization Best Management Practices (BMPs) reduce the effects of shoreline and stream bank erosion and thereby limit sediment and phosphorus runoff into streams, lakes and ponds.
Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Bank Stabilization BMPs
Note that the most natural form of erosion control is the best option. As a result, the BMPs are listed in order of preferred implementation: Resloping, Rock Toe, and Rip Rap. Resloping is the most natural and rip rap should be considered a last resort for erosion control.
Note: Any work that occurs in the lake, below the average summer water level, requires a Shoreland Encroachment Permit.
Bank stabilization Best Management Practices (BMPs) reduce the effects of shoreline and stream bank erosion and thereby limit sediment and phosphorus runoff into streams, lakes and ponds.
Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Bank Stabilization BMPs
Note that the most natural form of erosion control is the best option. As a result, the BMPs are listed in order of preferred implementation: Resloping, Rock Toe, and Rip Rap. Resloping is the most natural and rip rap should be considered a last resort for erosion control.
Note: Any work that occurs in the lake, below the average summer water level, requires a Shoreland Encroachment Permit.
EXCAVATION: General Excavation and Construction Tips
A poorly managed construction site can produce more sediment in one season than the amount generated over many years from all other kinds of land and home projects. Driveways, excavation for houses or outbuildings, creation of impervious surfaces, and roadway grading are all sources of sedimentation in the watershed that can reach the lake.
A poorly managed construction site can produce more sediment in one season than the amount generated over many years from all other kinds of land and home projects. Driveways, excavation for houses or outbuildings, creation of impervious surfaces, and roadway grading are all sources of sedimentation in the watershed that can reach the lake.
- Drainage: Avoid making culverts, drains, or ditches that discharge stormwater directly into streams or the lake. Instead, apply designs that filter stormwater into the ground, including porous pavement, and gravel wetlands. OR create shallow, gravel-filled trenches to catch, slow down, and redirect runoff, perhaps directed to a rain garden.
- Soil runoff: Divert downhill runoff with water bars, silt fences, hay bales, etc. This may cost a little more upfront but helps minimize clean-up costs.
- Compaction and erosion: Avoid the use of heavy equipment (including riding mowers) within 10 feet of a stream or lake. The weight of the equipment can lead to soil compaction and crumbling banks. Discuss with your contractor.
- Impervious surfaces: Avoid paving or using other impermeable materials for driveways, walkways, patios, or tennis courts. Instead, use porous materials that help absorb stormwater. Strategies to shape and stabilize driveways can be found in The Vermont Guide to Stormwater Management for Homeowners (P. 41-42)
- Tree removal: during construction: Minimize removal of trees and vegetation to prevent erosion. Make sure requirements of the Shoreland Protection Act are followed.
DRIVEWAYS
- Crowned Driveways, Good Gravel, & Rock or Grass Lined Drainage Ditches: Lake benefits: A properly crowned driveway allows water to flow immediately off the road into surrounding vegetation or a stabilized ditch instead of into the lake. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Crowned Driveway BMPs
- Water Bars: Lake benefits: Water bars keep the volume of flow on a pathway from increasing and send it off to the side into a vegetated area for absorption. By increasing the frequency of water bars, runoff volume can be kept low, improving the absorption effectiveness of vegetation and duff layers. Since Waterbars allow runoff to enter the buffer as spread out "sheet flow," not channelized flow, they help prevent pollutants from reaching the lake or stream. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Water Bar BMPs
- Infiltration Trenches: Lake benefits: Infiltration trenches manage runoff from paved areas, rooftops and other impervious surfaces. Their function is to provide ground water recharge and prevent pollutants from entering the lake by way of water filtration into the soil rather than direct runoff. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Infiltration Trenches BMPs
- Turnouts: Lake benefits: Turnouts return stormwater runoff as sheet flow to natural drainage areas. Turnouts reduce the speed of runoff, allowing soil particles to settle out instead of being transported to a stream, river, or lake. Water and nutrients can then be filtered and absorbed by the surrounding vegetation. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Turnouts BMPs
- Pervious Pavement: Lake benefits: By infiltrating precipitation, pervious pavement reduces stormwater runoff flow rate, volume, and temperature, and filters pollutants that would otherwise run into lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Pervious pavement also helps recharge groundwater and maintain stream base flows. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Pervious Pavement BMPs
- Open-top Culverts and Rock Aprons: Lake benefits: Open-top culverts and rock aprons reduce erosion of the road surface, preventing nutrients and sediment entering the lake or stream. Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Open-top Culverts BMPs
WELLS, DRY WELLS
- Downspouts and Dry Wells: Lake benefits: Dry wells collect and infiltrate runoff at gutter downspouts and other places where large quantities of concentrated water flow off rooftops. These systems help control erosive runoff on your property, and reduce wear on your house by minimizing back splash.2 sides with graphics and photos Share with your Contractor: Lake Wise Illustrated Guide to Downspouts and Dry Well BMPs