WS-Lakes Fact Sheet

Simple yard and garden maintenance practices that can save time, effort, and money, and help keep lake waters safe for people, pets, and wildlife.

Diagonal channels across driveways or pathways that intercept stormwater runoff and divert it to a stable treatment area.

Vegetated swales, also called bioswales, are shallow open channels lined with dense vegetation that slow, filter, and convey stormwater runoff.

Turnouts and rock aprons receive channelized flow from swales, ditches, and culverts and convert it to sheet flow before entering stable vegetated areas. Turnouts are extensions of ditches that redirect water, slow it down, and disperse it. A rock apron is a shallow basin lined with stones used to settle and filter water from concentrated flows.

Manage for native vegetation and pathways along shorelands to minimize risk of human contact with ticks and prevent tickborne diseases, including Lyme Disease and Anaplasmosis.

Natural communities are made of plants and animals growing and living together in landscapes characterized by specific soil, water, and climate conditions. Native shoreland vegetation is essential for protecting lake water quality and wildlife habitat. Vermont has over 800 lakes with several natural lakeshore communities, ranging from cobble and sandy beaches to wetlands to northern hardwood forests. Planting native species and protecting and encouraging natural plant communities along Vermont shorelands is one of the most important things we can do to protect lake health, clean drinking water, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities.