Phosphorus Pollution
- Photo from morguefile.com
Excessive amounts of phosphorus in a lake can shift the biological community to domination by weeds and algae. Sediments can be a source of phosphorus and they also smother wildlife habitat. The Lake Champlain Committee advocates for better control of nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain through improved agricultural policies and programs; better management of stormwater by municipalities, residents, and states; clear and consistent enforcement of water rules and regulations; and active engaged citizens that do their part to reduce personal impacts on water quality.
Despite extensive recent efforts to reduce pollution, the amount of phosphorus in the lake has not changed in most places and appears to be increasing in some lake segments. Wetter-than-normal weather and an increase in the population of the Lake Champlain Basin are thought to be the two most significant causes of increased phosphorus loading.
LCC's Past and Ongoing Projects
- Launched the longest running citizen monitoring program in the country to gauge trends in water quality.
- Advocated for a joint New York, Vermont, and Quebec approach to reduce nutrient loading.
- Pushed for boat holding tank laws to make dumping boat waste illegal on the lake.
- Lobbied for sewage treatment upgrades and phosphorus removal at wastewater treatment plants.
- Pushed for a more stringent standard of phosphorus removal for Lake Champlain wastewater treatment plants.
- Secured passage of the first ban on phosphorus in the laundry detergents, resulting in the most significant reduction in pollution loading the lake has seen.
- Pushed legislation to close a loophole that had allowed continued phosphorus use in automatic dishwasher detergents. The legislation will go into effect in 2010.
- Supported Best Management Practices for farms and the adoption of nutrient management plans to reduce phosphorus loading from agriculture.
- Helped establish numeric water quality standards for phosphorus levels in the lake. LCC co-wrote the standards and worked to ensure their adoption. Without numeric standards it is unlikely that the clean-up efforts of the last decade would have happened.
- Earned endorsement from the states of New York and Vermont and the province of Quebec of numeric water quality standards as part of an international water quality agreement.
- Successfully advocated for New York, Vermont and Quebec commitments to accelerate nutrient reduction actions.
- Brought increased attention, funding and restoration work to Missisquoi Bay, St. Albans Bay, the areas of the lake that suffer most dramatically from excess phosphorus loading.
- Current member Lake Champlain Basin Phosphorus Reduction Task Force, which we helped initiate.
- Current member of the Vermont Citizens’ Advisory Committee on the Future of Lake Champlain.
- Developed the Lake Champlain Protection Pledge – an opportunity for all citizens to reduce their impacts on the lake
- Helped develop the Don’t P on Your Lawn campaign – an educational outreach effort to reduce unnecessary application of phosphorus lawn fertilizer.
Dishwashing Detergent P Ban Takes Effect
In 2007, after five years of active lobbying by the Lake Champlain Committee, the Vermont legislature banned the use of phosphorus in automatic dishwasher detergents designed for home use. That ban goes into effect on July 1, 2010. The bill will save municipalities money as they will no longer need to remove the phosphorus from detergents that went to sewage treatment plants. It will also prevent two to three metric tons of phosphorus from entering Vermont’s waterways. While the phosphorus removal represents only a small percentage of the total phosphorus removal needs of Lake Champlain, there are few single actions that can have as great an impact as this legislation does.
