The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the University of Vermont’s Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program launched the Green Infrastructure Collaborative. The collaborative promotes green infrastructure practices for managing stormwater runoff from developed land.

Rebecca Tharp will serve as program manager for the Green Infrastructure Collaborative and will provide support to the Vermont Green Infrastructure Roundtable. The roundtable is a partnership of state and federal agency staff, universities, municipalities, citizen groups, and businesses working together to support green infrastructure statewide.

The Vermont Clean Water Act, signed in June 2015, focuses on efforts to reduce water quality problems statewide, including phosphorus loading to Lake Champlain. According to the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, runoff from developed land contributes more than three times as much phosphorus to Lake Champlain when compared acre-per-acre with agricultural land. Therefore, an approach targeting developed land is a leading priority in restoring the lake.

The Collaborative will create a shared Web page that connects the public with resources, updates on stormwater management projects throughout the state, and advances in green infrastructure research in cold climates. Read more.