Watercraft Decontamination Station at the Newport City Dock
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Lakes and Ponds Program is excited to announce that this summer thanks to help and support from Memphremagog Watershed Association, VTDEC will be hosting a pilot watercraft decontamination station at the Newport City Dock near the Gateway Center, located on Lake Memphremagog. This pilot station will be located at 110 Fyfe Drive, Newport VT 05855 and will be operated from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, first come, first serve, on the following dates:
Sunday, July 27
Sunday, Aug 10
Saturday, Aug 23
Saturday, Aug 30
The goal of this limited hour decontamination station is to pilot the use of a decontamination station located on Lake Memphremagog in response to the 2024 Zebra Mussels Detection on the United States side of the lake. VTDEC aims to collect data on what types of watercrafts utilize this service, how much traffic this station location gets, and which days this service is most utilized. This will inform decisions about where to station an annual decontamination station that would be operated by greeters in future summers.
Watercraft owners should be prepared to talk with both the Newport City Greeter as well as the VTDEC staff that will be interviewing them for necessary data collection. Watercraft owners should expect to answer questions about which weekends they are most likely to boat, which Memphremagog boat launch they find most accessible for decontamination purposes, and any other questions deemed necessary for the well-informed operation of a long-term decontamination station.
For any questions or concerns, please contact Greeter Program Technician Cedulie Benoit-Smith at 802-622-4323 or cedulie.benoit-smith@vermont.gov
