Vermont Officials Warn: Stay Out of Rivers, Floodwaters

A man walking through flood waters at Burlington’s Intervale on Tuesday Credit: Daria Bishop

Even though water levels are beginning to subside, health and safety officials are warning people to stay out of Vermont’s rivers.

“Our waterways are not safe right now,” Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said at a press conference on Wednesday morning. “The currents are fast, there is a tremendous amount of debris, and folks really need to stay off our rivers for the time being.”

Heavy rainfalls can create dangerous conditions in swimming holes, streams, rivers and waterfalls, according to Tom DeBell, an environmental health engineer for the Vermont Department of Health. The recent catastrophic flooding also adds the potential for contaminant releases in the water, he said.

Contaminated water could cause skin rashes, sore throat, diarrhea or more serious problems, DeBell said.

The health department’s guidance is typically 48 hours, though DeBell urged more caution because of extra debris. Floodwaters could also have live wires, harmful bacteria and sharp objects, the National Weather Service in Burlington warned. And more rain is in the forecast, which could bring further flooding, along with more runoff into the rivers.

Additionally, wastewater treatment facilities around the state have reported dozens of discharges into Vermont waterways, according to data collected by the Agency of Natural Resources. Some of the discharges were of untreated sewage.

In Burlington, a wastewater pipe that crosses the Winooski River broke sometime early on Wednesday, likely due to the roaring floodwaters, the city said. About 10 percent of the city’s untreated waste was flowing into the river, near the mouth of Lake Champlain, until crews were able to block the broken pipe around 8:45 a.m.

A full repair won’t be possible until the waters recede further. The city has put up signs warning people not to swim within a mile of the pipe break, including the North Shore beach access areas in the New North End.

Anyone who has been forced to go through floodwaters should shower immediately, advised Declan McCabe, professor of biology and natural area coordinator at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester.

Oddly, the strong water flows could put a damper on another summertime scourge: cyanobacteria. The algal blooms typically thrive in a layer of warm water on the top of the lake, but a storm can sometimes mix the layers and break them up, according to McCabe.

That doesn’t mean McCabe is ready for a swim at one of Burlington’s beaches on Lake Champlain, even though they are open. Those swimming areas are south of the Winooski River, which is still bringing all kinds of debris and runoff, including contaminants and sewage, into the lake. “I wouldn’t let my kids go in,” he said.

The Department of Health is also advising people who use wells to assume their drinking water is contaminated if floodwater has reached it. And several municipal water systems had boil water notices for residents because of the chance of contamination.

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