Vermont environmental group working to restore wetlands in Hinesburg

HINESBURG, Vt. (WCAX) - An old soccer field behind the Hinesburg United Church needs some environmental restoration work, and a local organization is taking on the task.

The Lewis Creek Association wants to improve Hinesburg’s water quality. Part of that work is restoring the stream network that runs behind the church and eventually empties into Lake Champlain. Those streamlines are all human-made and flow in a straight line, making them more susceptible to picking up pollutants and sedimentation.

The Lewis Creek Association plans to restore the water flow by diverting the water into a more shallow, naturalized stream area, along with planting native vegetation in hopes of restoring Hinesburg’s natural wetlands.

“We want to slow water down, we want to spread it out and sink it into the ground. Those are sort of ways water would have naturally flowed across this landscape. It would have allowed clean water to reach the streams. As it is right now, our water is moving too fast and it’s not being allowed to spread out,” said Kate Kelly of the Lewis Creek Association.

The project will cost $215,000. It’s being funded by the state of Vermont’s Clean Water Fund and Watersheds United Vermont.

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