A decrease in Lake Champlain’s water clarity level would produce drastic economic ramifications, according to new University of Vermont and Lake Champlain Basin Program research.
Water clarity is the measure of how far down light penetrates through water. A team of researchers from UVM used a white disk, known as a secchi, to measure the water clarity of Lake Champlain this summer.
Brian Voigt, the UVM professor who led the research, explained that researchers drop the white and black secchi disks attached to a rope into the water and when the disk gets to a level where it can’t be seen anymore, they measure that depth.
The farther down the secchi disk is visible, the clearer the water is.
“We focused on water clarity, because people have a visceral reaction to it,” Voigt said. “If you take your family swimming, you might not know what excess phosphorus means. But chances are you will avoid an algae bloom” Voigt said.
Since 1992, the most significant decreases in water clarity occurred in the Otter Creek Segment of the lake, with a drop in water clarity by about two meters. The water clarity in Mallett’s Bay dropped by about 1.4 meters between 1992 and 2015, and water clarity in the main lake dropped by about one meter.
However, since 2010, water clarity in some of those sections of the lake has actually improved. Between the years of 2010 and 2015, water clarity increased by 0.24 meters in Mallett’s Bay, for example.
St. Albans Bay and Shelburne Bay suffered the most significant decreases in water clarity since 2010. In the past half decade, water clarity in Shelburne Bay decreased by 0.8 meters, and by about 0.7 meters in Saint Albans Bay.
The UVM study shows that with a decrease of just one meter of water clarity, Vermont lakeside communities would lose $16.8 million in economic activity, and approximately 200 full-time jobs. Seasonal homes would depreciate in value by 37 percent, and year round single family homes would suffer a three percent loss, according to the report, “An Assessment of the Economic Value of Clean Water in Lake Champlain.”
Lake Related Tourism
Lake related tourism during the summer months faces a $12.6 million drop in summer expenditures, with a three foot decrease in clarity. Lakeside communities would endure these losses during the months of July and August alone, which are Vermont’s busiest months for tourism and seasonal lodging.
“This is $300 million at risk because of water quality problems” said John Erickson, an economist at the University of Vermont who worked on the study.
“It’s important for the public to know that any kind of improvement that we make in water quality, any kind of re-regulations that we put into place, have both big environmental benefits and huge economic benefits,” Erickson said. “This is a part of the Vermont economy that is at risk to water quality problems.”
Using analysis from meals and room receipts data for six towns between May and September, the study reported an insignificant correlation between water clarity and room receipts for the months of May, June, and September. But, at the peak of summer tourism in July and August, room receipts depend heavily on water quality, the study found.
It is during the months of July and August that algal blooms and other water clarity problems are most apparent, according to the study. Between 2012 and 2014, St. Albans Bay Park and Red Rocks Beach were closed several times, the study noted. These closures were due to either excess E. coli or the presence of toxic blue-green algae, according to the study.
“We are realizing these economic losses right now,” Erickson said. “If you talk to hotel and motel and resort owners in the affected communities, they’ll tell you that people’s perceptions of decline in water quality is not good. It’s not good for business.” he said.
The cascading impact not only impacts lodges and hotels, but also where people spend their money in restaurants, Erickson explained, emphasizing that tourism is a huge export industry for the state of Vermont. “Anything that heckles that reputation, that experience, and ultimately the tourists coming to recreate in our region, will have large economic effects” he said.
Home values
A three foot reduction in water clarity yields a 3 percent depreciation for year-round single family homes in Vermont lakeside communities, according to the study.
The findings of the study are not all grim, however, says Eric Howe, director of the Lake Champlain Basin program.
“On a positive note, an increase in water clarity can result in a 37 percent average increase in seasonal and single-home values around the lake, and that will translate across the economy as well” Howe said.
Concerned homeowners can take tangible initiatives to prevent their home values from depreciating, Howe added.
“Particularly during rainstorm events, folks can take a look at their property and look for places where water is running off, and watch where it goes” Howe said.
Howe says homeowners can take steps to mitigate runoff by installing rain guards and barrels that prevent water from accumulating and causing more erosion downstream, where sediment and other pollutants can enter the flow of water.
“Find the places where the water runoff is collecting and install either rain guards or rain barrels, and collect the rainfall and help it soak into the ground on the property rather than allowing it to run off and go into a ditch or a stream,” Howe said.
Last year, VTDigger reported that the 2015 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report showed no progress on the Lake Champlain clean-up. The Lake Champlain Basin Program releases this report every three years.
Scientists say the process is gradual, but the consequences of an eventual one-meter decrease is compelling reason to maintain efforts to keep down pollution.
“It’s not that there hasn’t been any progress, it’s more looking at it in that things are not continuing to get worse around the phosphorus loading perspective,” Howe said. “There’s still a lot that’s built up sediment over the past couple hundred years. It will take a while for that phosphorus to flush out.”
“I don’t expect water clarity to go down by a meter in a year, this is again over the long term. I have no reason to think that the water clarity will drop by a meter in a year” Howe assured.
