West River Watershed Alliance 2007 Annual Report and 5 Year Summary includes:

• Introduction
• Methods
  
• Results for 2007
  
  • A. The West River & Its Tributaries
    
  • B. The Williams River
    
  • C. The Saxtons River
  IV. Results for 2002 – 2007
  • A. The West River & Its Tributaries
    
  • B. The Williams River
    C. The Saxtons River
    
  IV. Conclusion
  
  • V. Appendix
    
  • A. Raw Data'

WRWA_2007AnnualReport_5yrSummary 25/01/2008,13:18 2.41 Mb

A group of citizens and organizations, known as the West River Watershed Alliance Steering Committee, began meeting to develop community based watershed forums for the West River Watershed, in 1998 and 1999.

The result of the public forums was an action plan that followed a holistic watershed approach to: define environmental, economic and educational issues; conduct scientific assessments and analysis; consider educational and public outreach programs; and promote community and government interaction to address issues.

View the PDF brochure below for more in depth information
 WRWA brochure 3_08 01/04/2008,12:52 1.82 Mb

The EPA standard for E. coli at swimming beaches is 235 colonies/100mL of sample water. The Vermont State Standard in Class B waters is 77 colonies/100mL of sample water.

A pH of 7 is considered to be neutral. When the pH is less than 7, it is acidic; a pH greater than 7 is basic. A pH value between 7.0 and 8.0 are optimal for supporting a diverse aquatic ecosystem. Vermont Water Quality Standards require that pH values shall be maintained within the range of 6.5 and 8.5, where both the change and the rate of change in pH values shall be controlled to ensure the full support of the aquatic biota, wildlife, and aquatic habitat uses.

The West River Watershed Alliance (WRWA) recognizes the importance of water quality monitoring on the West River watershed and has devised a volunteer-based program to continue previous monitoring efforts.

The West River watershed has been designated as a “special focus area - high priority” by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) because of its rare species, potential for Atlantic salmon restoration, and contiguous habitat type. Specific threats to the West River watershed identified by USFWS and The Nature Conservancy of Vermont (TNC) are sedimentation and thermal modification due to riparian vegetation removal, flood control dams, erosion and flow alteration. Observed changes, especially in the condition of the West River , over the last several years have increased public awareness and concern for its ecological health and the health of those using the Watershed for recreational purposes.