Updated at 5:28 p.m.
Dave Hungerford is sick of this shit.
After Burlington’s wastewater treatment plant recently overflowed several times into Lake Champlain, Hungerford decided to take matters into his own hands. On Thursday morning, he stood in the rain on Williston Road in South Burlington holding a sign that read: “Burlington, Stop Dumping Shit Into Our Lake.”
“It was one thing I could do,” said Hungerford, 59. “It’s better than putting an angry emoji face on Facebook. [The spills have] been an ongoing problem for many years.”
Hungerford lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., but grew up in St. Albans and has a family cottage on the lake there. Thursday’s one-man protest was Hungerford’s third since he decided to take action about a month ago. Wearing a yellow rain slicker, he noted that the weather likely meant the city plant had spewed more wastewater into the lake.
He was right: More than 15,000 gallons overflowed into the Intervale wetlands Wednesday night, according to data the Queen City provided to the state. And nearly 66,000 gallons more flowed into the Pine Street Barge Canal, the city revealed in a press release later Thursday. About 90 percent of the release was stormwater, the city said, “with a small wastewater fraction.”
In response, city officials posted signs at Blanchard Beach in Oakledge Park and at the beach near the former Blodgett property warning swimmers of the potential for increased bacteria levels in the lake. The city said it would release water sample results on Friday.
The latest overflow came two weeks after the city dumped 3 million gallons of partially treated wastewater into the lake during a storm. All told, Burlington has dumped more than 11 million gallons in 2018.
“As progressive of a state Vermont is, and as progressive a city as Burlington is, with a world-class university right behind us, there’s got to be an alternative to get the sewage under control rather than dump millions of gallons of untreated sewage directly into Lake Champlain,” Hungerford lamented.
Cars honked as he stood steadfastly in the drizzle. “Good job, man,” a guy on a bicycle offered as he pedaled by.
“This is a good location because there’s plenty of traffic here — and it’s headed into Burlington,” said Hungerford.
The poster’s profanity, Hungerford said, served a specific purpose. The four-letter word is something a “fourth grader could look at and immediately understand what it means,” rather than euphemisms officials use such as “partially treated wastewater” or “fecal matter,” he said.
“I’m sensitive to the word,” said Hungerford, “but it works.”
It’s not just Burlington that’s had poop problems. State data show that nearly 300,000 gallons of dirty water flowed into Stevens Brook in St. Albans City on Wednesday morning. That same day, Rutland dumped 679,000 gallons into East Creek — two days after it discharged 9.7 million gallons into nearby waterways.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has vowed action in the Queen City. After the city’s July 10 multimillion-gallon overflow, he ordered Department of Public Works director Chapin Spencer to “immediately devote every available resource” to finding the cause of a mechanical problem that led to the leak and to fix it. Weinberger also promised to complete “capital upgrade planning” by December 1 so city residents can vote on Town Meeting Day in March 2019 on paying for improvements.
“These unintended, avoidable releases are completely unacceptable to to Burlingtonians, to Vermonters, and to me,” Weinberger said in the July 11 statement. “The City’s Department of Public Works has a core responsibility to properly treat our sewage and stormwater and fully protect the lake.”
Hungerford agreed.
“It affects the biggest population center in this state,” he said. “This part of the lake is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s directly involved in dumping the sewage.”
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Hey I got an idea let’s complain about something that completely out of our hands unless the taxpayers put forth effort to fix a problem that will cost millions lol Facebook won’t solve anything if you think It will you’re part of the problem
“Miro won’t do anything about it. He like the typical politicians, says what people want to hear and forgets about it. All he is interested in is his stupid projects which are a waste of money!.”
Oh, GI Gripe, you’re so negative!
Not to worry… you know Russ Scully… the guy who just spent a bunch of dough on the Blodgett oven property?… currently has some sort of exclusive private, pay for access beach club going on there now?… will probably build residential units up around it eventually?… he’s a big $$ donor to the mayor… there will be movement on this (excuse the pun)… poop water no bueno for high end lake enthusiasts… so the residents of Burlington will be swayed to pony up for all the development Miro is handing out to his buddies… increased pressure on the system creates the necessity to build up the system to allow for more development… he wants a “vibrant” little city?… you get to pay for it…
Would be great if the herein noted James Ehlers actullay detailed how he would a) force Rutland, Brandon and Vergennes to fix their constant sewage overflows; and b) how he thinks those towns will obtain funding. The question had been posed to him in the past, and…silence. We are talking $100mm+ for Rutland alone. These 3 towns will continue to dump their residents waste into Otter Creek/Lake Champlain for years to come. Lake Champlain is doomed
Vote for james elhers! He’s on the forefront in water quality. He will work hard for the people and help guide us towards a healthy watershed.
Miro won’t do anything about it. He is only interested in his own stupid projects which are a waste of money.
Miro won’t do anything about it. He like the typical politicians, says what people want to hear and forgets about it. All he is interested in is his stupid projects which are a waste of money!
It’s great that he’s holding a sign and letting drive-byes know how he feels. But honestly, what is that going to accomplish? If I were to drive by and see this guy…I’d tend to agree with him, but it’s not like he’s bringing new knowledge that’s actually going to help anything. Do this in front of the Burlington Water company. Maybe stand in their front door and hold this sign.
What people fail to understand is just how clean water is tied into the economic well-being of Vermont. For years we built a brand based upon environmentalism, clean, green, and sustainable. However, we now rest on our dead laurels, and are blind to the fact that Vermont with dirty lakes, rivers and streams will no longer attract the tourist…and will pave the way for those rich enough to leave Vermont. I am voting James Ehlers for Governor, because he is the ONLY candidate who has a long track record of not only understanding the problem but also doing something about it. Can we afford to let Vermont slowly circle down the drain? Ehlers understands that Vermont’s entire economic welfare is tied to clean water. Without it, we will degrade into some backwoods dump that everyone bypasses on their way to someplace better. Vermont has only two things going for it – her people and her environment, and we are drastically losing both. When will people realize that a polluted Vermont is not Vermont at all. Its high time we elect a Governor, who will fix these problems. We cant grow on an antiquated wastewater systems. Elect Ehlers for Governor and make Vermont Clean and Green again.
What disturbs me the most is the failure due to what I interpret to be disinterest/apathy, of Burlington’s elected officials to take any action. Not even a worthless resolution to “do something” in the days ahead. Instead, widening the bikepath (felling hundreds of trees in the process), installing bike lanes ad nauseum, putting workout stations on the bikepath, the recent survey about Memorial Auditorium, enabling drug addicts to stay addcited with free needles and safe injection sites, allowing one person to play the racist card leading to the removal of the iconic marketplace mural, spending millions to change City Hall Park, and let’s not forget the administration’s cozy relationship with developer Eric Farrell. The waste of taxpayer time, money and resources has resulted in enough disgust that I no longer want to live in Burlington or Vermont. The only ballot items Burlington voters see are those that are laser focused on bonding yet more debt. How about a November ballot item asking if there should be a moratorium on building in Vermont until the current and now longstanding sub-standard wastewater treatment infrastructure is upgraded to accomodate all building permits approved over the past 10 years (or more)?