The Water Quality Action Committee (WQAC)
For more than a decade lay volunteers have monitored and reported water quality statistics to Vermont's Lake Assessment Program, an aggregation of several different water quality monitoring projects. Each of these projects contribute to a better understanding of the environmental and developmental impacts to overall lake health. Additional details on how these lake monitoring programs are implemented on Lake Fairlee can be found under the Lake Health menu tab above.
Establishment of the WQAC
In 2019 it became apparent that phosphate levels in the lake were rising more rapidly than comparable Vermont lakes. The board of the LFA established the Water Quality Action Committee (WQAC) whose mission is to develop a plan to deal with rising phosphate levels in Lake Fairlee. Several potential sources of pollution are thought to include water chemistry and temperature changes due to climate change, failed septic systems, poor lakeshore management (storm water runoff, phosphate lawn fertilizer, and lack of buffer vegetation), runoff from (non-compliant) dirt road grading, and contamination from upstream tributaries. The committee is engaged with each of these monitoring efforts and is helping to develop recommendations to identify and prioritize possible mitigation efforts.
Establishment of the WQAC
In 2019 it became apparent that phosphate levels in the lake were rising more rapidly than comparable Vermont lakes. The board of the LFA established the Water Quality Action Committee (WQAC) whose mission is to develop a plan to deal with rising phosphate levels in Lake Fairlee. Several potential sources of pollution are thought to include water chemistry and temperature changes due to climate change, failed septic systems, poor lakeshore management (storm water runoff, phosphate lawn fertilizer, and lack of buffer vegetation), runoff from (non-compliant) dirt road grading, and contamination from upstream tributaries. The committee is engaged with each of these monitoring efforts and is helping to develop recommendations to identify and prioritize possible mitigation efforts.
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Water Quality Action Committee (WQAC) Members:
Sean Brown (Chair) David Forbes Dale Gephart Fred Peterson John Tarbell |
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Lake Fairlee Water Sampling, August 5, 2021
University of Vermont student, Hannah Randall, prepares to collect and test water samples from Lake Fairlee for an inventory of the algae (free floating phytoplankton). She was part of a Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resource summer internship co-sponsored by the Lake Fairlee Association. Dale Gephart assists.
University of Vermont student, Hannah Randall, prepares to collect and test water samples from Lake Fairlee for an inventory of the algae (free floating phytoplankton). She was part of a Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resource summer internship co-sponsored by the Lake Fairlee Association. Dale Gephart assists.
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On August 15, 2019 the combined team, in the photo above, gathered to begin assessing the cause of increased phosphate in Lake Fairlee. Four members of the Vermont Department of Environment Conservation joined four members of the Lake Fairlee Association Water Quality Action Committee for a “get to know” overview of the lake. Multiple hypotheses still remain to understand the increase of nutrients in the lake.