Storm Water at Shelburne Farms

1. Storm Water at Shelburne Farms Water Quality Assessment of Storm Water Entering Lake Champlain from Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT Kate Crawford, Graduate Student, Dr. Alan McIntosh, Professor, Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont

2. Water Quality • Quality of water in Lake Champlain is largely determined by the quality of surface water runoff from its watershed • Improved quality of both surface runoff and lake water benefits all stakeholders • Parameters used to assess water quality include bacteria (E. coli), nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen, P and N, respectively) and total suspended solids (TSS)

3. Reasons for Concern • Part of Shelburne Farms’ mission is agricultural and environmental education • Highly visible community leader • Farm occupies large tract of land adjacent to Lake Champlain

4. The Study: Methods • Seven sites for data collection identified based on Farms’ topography and its corresponding drainage patterns • Samples collected under a variety of flow conditions: low flow, small storms, moderate-severe storms, sustained storms • Samples analyzed for concentrations of E. coli, TSS, TKN, and TP (Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, VT and Severn Trent Laboratories, Colchester, VT) • Evaluated data to assess storm water quality at Shelburne Farms and identify areas of concern • 2004 Data are included for comparison.

5. Site Map

6. Sample Collection Sites Crea’s Beach NorthBeach Elm Swamp Dairy Barn Compost Pile Orchard Cove South Beach

7. Precipitation Sample Collection Precipitation values obtained from http://www.accuweather.com. Measurements were made at the Burlington International Airport, Burlington, Vt.

8. Precipitation Characteristics

9. What did we find? (Summer 2005)Summary of E. coli Data >241,900 >241,900 17,300 54,800 36,100 14,800 51,700 29,100 29,100 32,600 57,900 *Red line indicates the Vermont water quality standard for E. coli in recreational waters. This value is 77 colonies of E. coli per 100mL of water.

10. Summary of Total Suspended Solids Data 15,800 1,470 1,620 898 610 *Red line indicates the national average concentration of TSS in stormwater, which is 54.5 mg/L.

11. Summary of Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen Data 70.4 8.9 5.1 9.7 7.2 *Red line indicates the national average concentration of TKN in stormwater, which is 1.47 mg/L.

12. Summary of Total Phosphorus as P Data 4.2 3.3 4.4 *Red line indicates the national average concentration of TP in stormwater, which is 0.26 mg/L.

13. Findings for 2005 Season • E. coli levels exceeded VT standards for recreational waters at every site during at least one storm event sampled • Levels of TSS, TP and TKN were particularly elevated below the Dairy Barn, below the Compost pile, at Orchard Cove and at South Beach. Nutrients and sediments frequently exceeded national storm water averages. • The increase in levels of pollutants were more related to intensity of storm events than total event rainfall.

14. Findings From 2004

15. Recommendations • Consider remediation at the Dairy Barn and the Compost Pile site to reduce storm water contamination. • Evaluate possible causes of pollutants noted at South Beach and consider remedial steps. • Continual monitoring before and after any remediation to verify improvements. • Consider developing a website for displaying water quality data at Shelburne Farms.

16. Acknowledgements Crea Linthilac Alec Webb Marshall Webb The Shelburne Farms community

17. Findings From 2004 (cont.)

18. Findings From 2004 (cont.) * *Sites 1-7 refer to various points starting from the Dairy Barn drainage to the outlet of Elm Swamp.