The State of Vermont has established Water Quality Standards as a means of guiding the management of water quality to ensure the use and enjoyment of Vermont's lakes and streams. Typical uses may include fishing, swimming, boating, hydroelectric power generation and waste disposal. When a use such as waste disposal threatens to degrade water quality to the extent that other uses are impaired, a limit must be placed upon the quantity of waste that may be discharged. This limit, referred to as the assimilative capacity, is defined as the maximum quantity of waste the water body can accept, without water quality being degraded below established standards.
