 By: Luke Foley, Climate & Engagement Manager
This past weekend, our Mad River Watch volunteers were back in the water—sampling and keeping tabs on the river that runs through the heart of the Valley. They weren’t the only ones enjoying their time in the river, as a holiday weekend, coupled with high temps and humidity, had many of us seeking out our favorite swim holes. As many of you probably noticed, these warm days have led to increased water temps across the watershed. And while temperature is a vital set of data that our volunteers collect, it is only one of many observations that they are making every other week when they venture out to the far reaches of the watershed. This week, we are shining a light on why we gather data on pH and conductivity, and what the recently passed “Big, Beautiful Bill” might mean for water quality in the Mad River. What’s pH Got to Do With It? The Mad River’s pH readings this week were hovering between 6.0 and 7.0 with an average of 6.5. This average is just about neutral—where water is healthiest for most fish and bugs that call it home. That’s good news. But keeping it that way takes more than just luck. Back in the 1980s and early ’90s, the river wasn’t always so well balanced. Pollution from coal plants in the Midwest was floating in on the wind, coming down as acid rain, and making our river water more acidic. After the Clean Air Act was strengthened in 1990, emissions were cut dramatically—and the pH in the Mad River started climbing back to healthier levels. It’s a great example of how federal environmental policies—even ones made hundreds of miles away—can make a real difference here in the Valley. Conductivity: A Clue About What’s Dissolved in the Water But pH isn’t the whole story. Volunteers this week also noticed higher-than-usual conductivity in a few spots. Conductivity basically comes down to how much stuff—like road salt, fertilizer, or even natural minerals—is dissolved in water. So what’s the connection to pH? When there are more dissolved materials in the water, it can throw off the pH balance. For example, runoff from heavy rains or melting snow can wash in salts or nutrients that make the water more alkaline or, depending on the source, more acidic. And that kind of change can stress out fish, insects, and other river life. In short: conductivity can be a warning sign that something’s changing upstream—even if the water still looks clear. Enter the “Big, Beautiful Bill” Just this week, Congress passed—and the president signed—the sweeping One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (also known as the "Big, Beautiful Bill"). It’s massive, covering tax cuts, cuts to food assistance, defunding clean energy programs, and rolling back many environmental protections. One of these rollbacks is pushing to weaken the EPA’s air pollution rules, including those that limit power plant emissions. If that happens, we could see a return of more acid rain—and a slow slide back toward the kind of pH problems we were seeing 30 or 40 years ago. Combine that with more local runoff (which raises conductivity), and the river could find itself under pressure from two sides. The chemical balance that keeps our river healthy is delicate, and even small changes can ripple out fast. The Power of Local Eyes and Ears Why should we care about all this? Because when pH and conductivity levels shift too far, it doesn’t just affect fish and frogs. It can change how nutrients and metals move through the water, how safe the water is to swim in, and how resilient the river is after storms. That’s why Mad River Watch is so important. Every other week throughout the summer, local volunteers are out there collecting samples, asking questions, and watching for changes. Their work helps make sure the Valley has real data to inform local planning and to advocate for clean water policies that matter. So whether you’re dipping your toes in the river this weekend or just driving along Route 100, take a moment to appreciate our lovely little Mad River. And then stay informed and fight the policies that threaten it, because keeping our river healthy takes all of us—boots in the stream and voices in the room. Photo credit: Brad Long  Looking downstream from Lareau Swimhole provides a good example of how the Mad River naturally bends, depositing sediment on the inside of the bend. Photo: Donna Van Halle By Ira Shadis, Executive Director
On June 22nd & 23rd, teams of Mad River Watch volunteers visited their field sites to collect important data and make careful environmental observations for the second time this summer. This article is part of an ongoing series that shares highlights from this field work as well as lessons learned from this year and the past 40 years of Friends of the Mad River’s Mad River Watch program. A history of channel management “Rivers are dynamic systems,” says Friends of the Mad River Director Ira Shadis. “Over the course of their life, they will change in some pretty extreme ways. When glaciers started retreating from the valley 14,000 years ago, water flowed through the Granville gulch and joined up with the Connecticut River basin. We might not have glaciers today, but the more recent history of human activity has definitely impacted the way water moves through this landscape.” Assessments of river dynamics were completed in 2008 for the upper Mad River and in 2018 for the portion of the river that flows through Moretown. The 2008 report noted that, “with the exception of three reaches found in narrow, bedrock-controlled settings, the Mad River has been historically altered, and in many areas, ‘locked in place’ through channel straightening and dredging, application of bank armoring, and removal of stream bank vegetation.” The cumulative effect of these activities has been a simplified channel form (i.e. a river with fewer bends and less vegetation) that provides only limited habitat for aquatic wildlife. “The historical assessment of the floodplain, through aerial photographs and other maps, suggests that major channel management projects were undertaken following the 1927 and 1938 floods,” says Shadis. “These were substantial undertakings whose effect we are still feeling today. And, while these projects might have provided some short-term protection to a few properties along the river, we know that when a river is hardened in this way it will send flooding and erosion issues to the next property downstream.” A Catalyst for Change At a recent flood resiliency event hosted by Friends of the Mad River and the Mad River Planning District, panelists reflected on the lessons learned from the 2023 and 2024 July floods. Dan Fingas, Plainfield Selectboard member explained that “anytime you try to engineer an end result with the river, it’s going to have a downstream or an upstream effect. You might fix [the issue] for your town but you’re not going to fix it for the towns around you.” As major storms roll through the region, they can have a direct impact on the evolution of the river. Increased flows accelerate normal processes and can rework sections of the river overnight. Some stretches of the Mad River are more prone to erosion and others are more prone to deposition of material. “The slope of the river, historic disconnection from the floodplain, the presence or absence of woody material in the channel, and health of riparian buffers can all play a role in determining which areas lose, transport, and accumulate material,” says Shadis. “At the end of the day, the river is trying to regain equilibrium within the physical (and biological) boundaries of the surrounding land. The more room we can give the river, the more opportunity there is for an ecologically rich and biodiverse community to take advantage of that equilibrium. For us humans, the challenge of living along the river arises from the fact that we also want a sense of equilibrium when it comes to our roads, houses, and other infrastructure – and that sometimes the river disagrees with us.” Notes from the Field Heavy rains on Saturday night and early Sunday morning showed up in volunteer observations. At Warren Covered Bridge, a tree broke and leaned into the river (providing critical shade to protect brook trout during this week’s heatwave). Volunteers noted similar evidence of erosion and deposition at nearly all field sites. Of note from the first set of field days, significant washouts along Brook Road in Waitsfield showed up as increased turbidity in High Bridge Brook. Water Temperatures ranged from a low of 56F at 10am Sunday at Warren Falls to a high of 69F at 1pm Sunday at Hopper Lane in Moretown.  Clay Brook, visited for the first time this summer by volunteer Susie Conrad, looked completely different than last year due to erosion and storm damage. Photo: Susie Conrad. This past weekend marked the beginning of the Friends of the Mad River 2025 Mad River Watch season. Twenty-five volunteers headed out to survey and collect data at 23 sites throughout the Mad River watershed. Many of our sites occur along the main stem of the Mad River, but volunteers also visit many of the tributaries that enter the Mad River on its 28 mile journey from its headwaters in the Granville Gulf to the confluence with the Winooski. The observations and data that they collect add to 40 years of information about our watershed, representing one of the longest-standing water quality monitoring programs in the United States.
Volunteers are our “eyes and ears” on the watershed As is typical of many small non-profits in the Mad River Valley, Friends of the Mad River operates with only a few full time staff. For this reason, our work is bolstered by the stalwart efforts of our volunteers, who help us to monitor the ebbs and flows of the Mad River. By cataloging the river throughout our field season, they help us better understand how the river is constantly changing. As Friends’ Executive Director, Ira Shadis, likes to exclaim, “Volunteers are our eyes and ears on the watershed.” Sometimes, a single year can bring big changes to a particular tributary or section of the river. For example, two of our volunteers remarked on drastic changes to their sites since they last visited in the fall of 2024. Susie Conrad, who monitors Clay Brook, commented, “I was amazed at the storm damage and erosion at Clay Brook… 3-4 trees washed out. A large section of bank up and down stream was carved out. Clay Brook has carved a new path upstream where the bank was ripped out.” Similarly, while monitoring Folsom Brook near where Route 100 washed out during last month’s storms, Peter White exclaimed that the tributary was “almost unrecognizable”. These observations speak to the nature of our most recent flood events, which often have highly localized impacts. One tributary or section of the Mad River can be ravaged by a storm, while other parts of the watershed might show little to no impact whatsoever. These observations also highlight the importance of having volunteers scattered throughout the watershed. Long term data tells a story Taken alone, a single photo or set of data collected by volunteers might not be all that helpful. Whether it is information about water temperature, pH, or conductivity (how much sediment is suspended in water), one piece of data only provides a snapshot at what is happening in that moment. It can sometimes be tempting to try to jump to conclusions or make assumptions based upon one or two of these observations. Collectively, however, all of these years of data help us to paint a picture of how the watershed has changed over time. For example, comparing water temperatures from this past weekend, to June of 2024 can be complicated and riddled with errors. On the other hand, comparing water temperatures from the first week of June for each of the past 40 years can be illuminating. The immense value of Mad River Watch is that it allows us to look at long term trends for how our watershed is being impacted by everything from development pressures to climate change. A lot has changed in the Mad River Valley since the first Mad River Watch volunteers went out back in 1985. The information collected by generations of dedicated volunteers since that time helps us to better understand the place we call home and the river that connects us all. |
Friendsof the Mad River Archives
August 2025
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