Projects

Below is a list of projects that the Town is currently working on to meet permit requirements under the State MS4 permit.

Flow Restoration Plans

Under the Flow Restoration Plan for Indian Brook, the Town is responsible for implementing the following projects:

Sydney Drive Detention Pond Retrofit
- This project is located in a wooded area on a Town-owned parcel that is adjacent to Sydney Drive in Lang Farm. The detention pond will be retrofitted into an underground storage and infiltration chamber that will manage 14.9% of the high flow reduction target. The Town worked with Dubois & King for the design and the University of New Hampshire’s Stormwater Center. A sand layer with 10% drinking water treatment residuals from Champlain Water District will be placed under the chambers in order to achieve phosphorus removal with the system. The project was completed in October 2020. The total project cost was $475,973. The Town received grant funding from the Vermont Agency of Transportation and Department of Environmental Conservation in the amount of $309,639. The cost to the Town was $166,334.
LDS Church Detention Ponds Retrofit
- This project is located on the LDS Church property on Essex Way. There are two detention ponds on the property - North System and South System. The North System will be retrofitted into an underground storage chamber and the South System will be retrofitted into an underground sand filter in order to receive additional phosphorus removal. Stormwater infrastructure will be modified to take in additional stormwater from Essex Way, Lang Farm, and the Essex Resort & Spa. This project will manage 46.2% of the high flow reduction target. The Town received a grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation in the amount of $1,846,185 for engineering services and construction and is currently working with VHB to complete the project. Construction is expected to take place in 2024.

Phosphorus Control Plans

Under the newly issued MS4 permit, the Town is required to develop a Phosphorus Control Plan which identifies projects that need to implemented in order to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the Lake by approximately 20% from municipally-owned and operated developed lands. The following projects will help the Town with meeting these requirements.

Phosphorus Control Plans
- The City secured a grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation in the amount of $50,000 to develop a Phosphorus Control Plan in collaboration with the Town. Because watersheds know no boundaries, the Town and City are working together to strategically implement projects in order to meet the requirements in a cost effective manner. Stone Environmental and Milone & MacBroom were hired to complete the project. A final draft plan was submitted to the State on April 1, 2021 and can be viewed here. The Town received a grant to work with an engineering firm to look at the top 4 projects to determine their feasibility and to develop a prioritization list and updated cost estimates. As of February 2023, the PCP has not yet been formally approved by the State.
Cul-de-sac Retrofit
- The Town and City secured a grant through the Vermont Agency of Transportation in the amount of $338,924 to retrofit three oversized cul-de-sacs by removing the pavement in the center and installing bio-infiltration systems. The cul-de-sacs are Oakwood Lane, Sage Circle, and Acorn Circle. Stantec and Stone Environmental were retained to complete the work for the project development and engineering. This is a pilot project to determine whether this will be an innovative and cost effective solution for removing phosphorus as there are over 30 cul-de-sacs in the Town. Construction was completed in the fall of 2022. The total project cost was $471,477.
Tanglewood Scoping Study
- The Town received a grant through the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Unified Plan Work Program in the amount of $39,000 to conduct a scoping study on Tanglewood Drive to improve pedestrian facilities and to mitigate the impact of stormwater at the end of Fern Hollow as there is severe erosion in the gully. Stantec was retained for the work. A final report identifying five alternatives was drafted. The report was presented to the Selectboard in September 2021 with the Selectboard accepting the report and endorsing the preferred alternative at the recommendation of staff. Throughout the study, there were many concerns over the speeding on Tangelwood Drive. As a result, Public Works will install a speed bump on the road in the spring of 2023.
Gravel Road Improvements
- The Town secured a grant in the amount of $48,726 through the Grants-in-Aid Program and Better Roads Program to bring road segments on Osgood Hill, Hanley Lane, and Catella Road up to current state standards. The work was contracted out to Blue Mountain Trucking and Excavating and was completed in June 2021.
- The Town secured additional funding through the Grants-in-Aid Program in the amount of $38,750 to upgrade additional road segments for FYE 22. In 2022, road segments were upgraded on Sawmill Road and at the intersection of Gray Way and Old Pump Road.

Closed Circuit Televising

Because there has been an emphasis on improving the water quality of local streams and Lake Champlain, one component of the Town’s stormwater program that has been neglected is the status of aging infrastructure. Many of the pipes in the Town are corrugated metal pipes that are 40 to 60 years old. The Town secured grant funding from the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Unified Plan Work Program to use a crawl camera to televise stormwater pipes and to develop an infrastructure replacement plan. This project will be a multi-year project. The goal of the project is to televise all the stormwater pipes in the Town and develop a long-term maintenance and replacement plan to use for planning purposes.

Phase 1 - Grant funding was secured in the amount of $45,000. Stormwater pipes were televised in Painesville, a section of Forestdale, and Sand Hill Road. Televising was completed in October 2020 and the final report was developed in March 2021.
Phase 2 - Grant funding secured in the amount of $50,000. Currently, the areas to be televised are the remaining pipes in Forestdale and Birchwood Manor. The project is expected to take place in 2022.
Phase 3 - Grant funding secured in the amount of $100,000. This will cover a large portion of stormwater pipes located across the Town including Pinewood, Meadows Edge, upper Sand Hill Road, Old Stage Village, Heritage Estates, and Shillingford Crossing.

Slip Lining Pipes on Sand Hill Road

The stormwater pipes on Sand Hill Road starting from the intersection of Sand Hill Road with VT Route 117 (River Road) to the intersection of Sand Hill Road with Greenbriar Drive will be slip lined this fall. Based on the Phase 1 televising project, each pipe has some level of structural deterioration throughout and needs to be addressed immediately. Sliplining is a trenchless process that installs a new pipe of a slightly smaller diameter inside an existing pipe and grouting it in place without the need to excavate a trench. Sliplining is less expensive and has less impacts on the surrounding utilities and traffic operations than a complete replacement of each pipe. The finished product has a 50-year design life which is the same as that of a brand-new pipe. The project was completed in March 2022 by Green Mountain Pipeline Services.