MWA was recently awarded $872,340 from the Memphremagog Clean Water Service Provider (CWSP) via the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) to implement four water quality and habitat improvement projects. These projects vary from stream and floodplain restoration to culvert upgrades, to stormwater treatment projects. All projects are scheduled to be implemented in 2025 and 2026.

Crawford Brook Restoration & Forest Gully Stabilization Project

The Crawford Brook Floodplain Restoration & Forest Gully Stabilization Project aims to address sediment loading and enhance fish habitat along a Clyde River tributary in Newport, VT. Crawford Brook has high conservation values given its cold water, forested catchment, and expansive wetlands that support Landlocked Atlantic Salmon fisheries. Crawford Brook is threatened by increased development and stormwater runoff in the headwaters, heavy sediment and phosphorus loading, and invasive species infestations. This project involves strategically installing woody structures within the stream corridor to reduce erosion, reverse channel incision, trap and filter sediment, and improve floodplain connectivity and floodwater storage capacity. Woody check dams will be constructed along a large forest gully to arrest erosion and sediment loading to Crawford Brook. In addition, MWA is working with the VT Fish & Wildlife Department (VFWD) and the North Country Mountaineers, the local VAST association, to stabilize an erosive section of trail that continues to wash out. Once completed, the project will restore 1.9 acres of floodplain, enhance 1.69 acres of wetland, and is anticipated to reduce 14.64 kilograms of phosphorus annually (kg/P/yr). This project was designed and permitted by MWA staff using funds awarded to MWA by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board in their role as the Memphremagog Clean Water Service Provider. MWA will also utilize funds from the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission to support trail stabilization efforts.

Phase 2.1 of the Valley Brook SMA Restoration Project is a continuation of recent restoration efforts that took place on the Valley Brook Streambank Management property owned by VT Fish & Wildlife Dept in Morgan, VT. This current phase of the project will upgrade two problematic culverts, one located under Valley Road and the other on a private driveway downstream of the VFWD property. These structures are problematic because they are significantly undersized, causing them to frequently fail and overtop. The private driveway culvert will be replaced with a suitable bridge and the Town culvert will be upgraded to a concrete box culvert. Both replacement structures will convey more than the 100-year flood and provide full passage for fish and other aquatic organisms. Over 1.5 miles of perennial streams will be fully reconnected and accessible for Brook Trout and other aquatic organisms. Additionally, the area below the Valley Road culvert outlet will be restored to a fully functioning alluvial fan, an area where sediment and debris flows naturally deposit and collect. Lastly, 11.4 acres of native trees and shrubs will be planted along Valley Brook and the tributaries that converge with the mainstem. Once completed, Phase 2.1 is projected to improve 1 acre of stream and floodplain habitat and is anticipated to reduce approximately 20 kg/P/yr. The culvert designs were completed by Stone Environmental, and the stream and floodplain restoration was designed by MWA staff. These efforts are being implemented using funds awarded to MWA by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board in their role as the Memphremagog Clean Water Service Provider. Both the Town of Morgan and the private landowners are contributing to the construction costs of the culvert replacement projects.

Upper Salem Hill Brook Restoration Project

The Upper Salem Hill Brook Restoration Project involves restoring 1,000 feet of a tributary to the Clyde River in Derby, VT. A section of this brook is degraded from historic land conversion, dredging, channelization, and bank erosion. MWA is working with landowners Thomas Comes and Alaria O’Brien to implement multiple restoration actions across the property. These actions will work to improve water quality, restore fish passage and habitat, and enhance migratory bird habitat for species like woodcock. The first step was initiated by Alaria and Thomas, who relocated cattle from sensitive stream and wetland areas to more suitable pastures elsewhere on the property. The next steps will involve replacing a severely undersized culvert, realigning a straightened and channelized section of stream, and restoring a woody buffer. A problematic 12-inch culvert will be upgraded to a 5-foot culvert with sediment retention baffles that will reduce erosion and provide full passage to fish and other aquatic organisms. Approximately 500 feet of stream channel will be realigned to direct water out of a channelized and eroding section and onto its historic floodplain. The channelized section of the brook will be abandoned and restored to wetland habitat using berm spoils and other native backfill from the site. Woody structures will be installed along the new stream channel and floodplain to provide habitat, trap and filter sediment and nutrients, and provide roughness for flood resilience. An eroding agricultural ditch will also be stabilized with stone check dams to trap sediment and reverse erosion. Finally, riparian buffers consisting of native trees and shrubs will be planted along the channel and floodplain to improve bank stability and habitat. This project is anticipated to reforest over 3 acres of riparian buffer, restore 1.65 acres of floodplain, and enhance 0.37 acres of wetlands. The annual phosphorus reduction is estimated to be 12 kg/P/yr. This project was designed and permitted by MWA staff using funds awarded to MWA by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board in their role as the Memphremagog Clean Water Service Provider.

Barton Village Stormwater Treatment Project

The Barton Village Stormwater Treatment Project will manage stormwater runoff on a public lot between the Library and the Solid Rock Assembly of God Church in Barton, VT. The goal of the project is to improve stormwater management from roughly 6 acres of downtown Barton Village. This treatment project will tap into an existing stormwater catch basin and divert runoff to treat the Water Quality event (1in, 24-hour storm). Treatment will be performed through a hydrodynamic separator unit, which filters out and removes oil, grease, sand, silt, and other particulate pollutants. After the hydrodynamic separator, the water will flow through a combination of an infiltration trench/level spreader, a vegetated filter strip, and a woody buffer above the Barton River floodplain. Invasive species treatments of existing Japanese Knotweed is scheduled to reduce the potential for spread. The annual phosphorus reduction is estimated to be 3.1kg/P/yr. Bannon Engineering was contracted to complete the project designs, which were funded by a block grant awarded to MWA from Watersheds United Vermont (WUV). This implementation project is being completed using funds awarded to MWA by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board in their role as the Memphremagog Clean Water Service Provider.