Warming Winters Threaten To Worsen Water Quality, Especially In Northeast, Midwest

Workers are installing pipelines along the road I live on
in St. Albans, Vermont as part of a larger project to
improve water quality in Lake Champlain (barely visible
in the distance in this photo).  The project would
remove pollutants from water along and near 
Interstate 89 before the water can percolate into the lake.

 There's an annoying construction project going on in front of my St. Albans, Vermont house, but it's for a good cause. 

The road out front is down to one lane while the construction goes on, and there's a bothersome, temporary traffic signal directly in front of my driveway. To get in and out of my property, I have to either sneak in front of stopped traffic or find a miracle gap in the queue at the light. 

And there's a lot of construction noise and dust. 

Like I said, it's for a good cause, so I don't mind it at all. A temporary inconvenience that I hope will make Lake Champlain less yucky. 

The construction in front of my house is part of a larger $3 million project along nearby Interstate 89 to steer stormwater into retaining ponds, where they gradually percolate into the ground, purifying in the process.  It's an effort to control ongoing pollution problems in Lake Champlain. 

The problem pollutant they're trying to control is phosphorus.  A recent study says these efforts are needed. 

Researchers from the University of Colorado, University of Kansas, University of Michigan and University of Vermont say warmer winters are increasing risks to water quality in 40 states, with New England and swaths of the Midwest at particular risk. 

In Vermont, and a lot of other states, climate change is making phosphorus pollution worse, as Vermont Public reports. Yes, it's yet another of a zillion reasons why climate change screws things up. 

Here in Vermont, climate change is in general making things warmer and wetter (despite the occasional drought interrupting this new wetness). 

This warmer climate means that in winter, there's now a greater chance we'll have more heavy rain storms in addition to the usual snow, notes Carol Adair with the University of Vermont. 

 Says Vermont Public:

"On top of that, many New England states have rich soils, full of phosphorus and nitrogen. In the past, these nutrients would reliably stay put under the snow until spring."

Now, it rains, sometimes hard, in the winter.  We've long had problems with phosphorus flowing into streams and lakes during torrential summer thunderstorms. 

Vermont Public continues:

"'The other thing that's very interesting about winter events is that from the limited data that we have, and from what we know about winter events and what they carry downstream, a winter event seems to carry more stuff, more sediment, more nutrients downstream than a similar event would during the growing season,' Adair said. 'So the same cubic foot of water in the winter is carrying more stuff than the same cubic foot during the summer.'"

With this increase in winter rain storms, expensive stormwater projects like the one going on in front of my house seem like they will be more needed than ever.  Farmers will continue to need to adjust how and when they spread manure on fields. 

Here in the Town of St. Albans, myself and all single family homeowners are now being charged $50 per year to help pay for a series of stormwater projects. St. Albans Bay is particularly prone to water quality and phosphorus issues.

These often cause potentially toxic algae blooms in the summer. 

Give the news that winter rains are just going to make water quality problems worse, I should be glad about the loud bangs and creaking construction equipment I hear in front of my house.