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Fairfield Pond Watershed Action Plan 

Friends of Northern Lake Champlain 

Request for Proposals 

February 28, 2022

Kent Pond1.jpg

Fairfield Pond

A. Introduction 

Fairfield Pond is a 446 acre body of water located in northwest Fairfield, VT close to the border with  Swanton and St. Albans Town. The pond’s watershed includes approximately 5.6 square miles  consisting of active agriculture, forested land, and a high concentration of seasonal and year-round  residences along the pond’s shoreline. The pond experienced dramatic water quality decline due to  severe eutrophication in the early 1980s to 1990s, but has since improved to a mesotrophic state  according to data from the VT Inland Lake Score Card. The water quality of the pond is considered  stressed with a watershed score classified as highly disturbed, and a trend score in the good category.  The pond is also impacted by Eurasian water milfoil. 

In 2014, Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC) worked with Stone Environmental and the Town  of Fairfield to develop a town-wide stormwater management plan (SWMP). At the time, the Fairfield  Pond area was acknowledged, however much of the assessment focused on designated areas of growth and municipal infrastructure. Since the report was issued in 2014, seasonal and year-round use has  continued to increase around the pond impacting stormwater affects and erosional risk from roadway  and reduced shoreline vegetation on erodible banks. Data from the VT Inland Lake Scorecard suggest an  increasing trend of total phosphorus over the past 10 years, and this could possibly threaten the positive  water quality gains the pond has experienced since the 1990s. FNLC has been working with, and gotten  support from the Fairfield Pond Recreation Association (a group of landowners around the pond) to  address ways to better manage sources of internal loading in the watershed. Given that the watershed is  stressed and climate change has increased intensity of runoff, our two groups feel that a Lake Watershed  Action Plan (LWAP) would be a necessary first step to help maintain and then improve the water quality  of Fairfield Pond. 

B. Scope of Work and Timeline 

The purpose of this proposed project is to use a combination of desktop analysis and field observations  to assess the Fairfield Pond Watershed for land use, shoreline encroachment, stormwater runoff, and  shoreline erosion to produce a Lake Watershed Action Plan.  

FNLC will partner with an environmental engineering consultant and use the VT DEC Technical  Guidelines for Conducting a LWAP to develop a Watershed Action Plan modeled after ones produced  for Lake Eden and Lake Elmore. Conducting a comprehensive investigation of upland stormwater runoff  and shoreline erosion patterns in the Fairfield Pond watershed will provide a data library of accurate mapping information for the community that can be used as a resource for future studies and projects.  The project will focus on: 

• Stormwater Projects: 

   1.  Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) BMP Installation/Retrofit– Opportunity  to reduce sediment and nutrient loads through the installation of a new stormwater best  management practice (BMP). Sites where nutrient and sediment reductions could be  improved through the retrofit of existing stormwater BMPs. 

  2. Road Drainage Improvement/Stabilization – Areas of high sediment and nutrient  loading due to road, embankment, and/or ditch erosion. 

• Stream Projects: 

  1. Stream Culvert – Locations of undersized culverts and culverts with active erosion. 

  2. Stream or Wetland Restoration – Problem areas where stream bank erosion is a  significant nutrient and sediment source, or where improved stream/wetland function  could reduce sediment and nutrient loads to receiving waters. 

• Lakeshore Projects: 

o Problem areas where lakeshore erosion or stormwater inputs are a significant nutrient  and sediment source, or where improved lakeshore natural communities could reduce  sediment and nutrient loads to receiving waters. 

Identified problems will be ranked and prioritized, and up to five conceptual plans and funding sources  will be developed. A final report will be generated summarizing the project and include the nutrient  loading reductions achieved by implementing the projects. FNLC will provide project management and  outreach to municipal partners and private landowners (Fairfield Pond Recreation Association), and  present findings to the Town of Fairfield Selectboard. The outcome of this project will address the  following objectives of Opportunities for Action: I.A.1, I.A.2.b, I.A.2.c, I.C.1, I.C.2, I.C.3, I.C.4, II.A.1,  and II.C.3.

C. Content of Proposals 

Responses to this request for proposals (RFP) should consist of the following: 

• A statement identifying individuals who were involved in the preparation of the proposal as well  as a single point of contact. 

• A list of individuals that will be committed to this project and their professional qualifications.  The names and qualifications of any sub-consultants shall be included in this list. 

• A scope of work and project budget. The budget should provide hourly rate information. The  effort will be reimbursed on a time and materials basis. 

D. Project Budget 

Friends of Northern Lake Champlain received a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program with a  budget of $21,500 to complete this portion of the project to identify and prioritize problem areas and  create up to 2 – 30% conceptual designs. 

E. Submissions 

Consultants wishing to be considered for this project should submit a complete proposal including a  detailed project budget via email only to: 

Dr. Kent Henderson

khenderson@friendsofnorthernlakechamplain.org

Please use “Fairfield Watershed Action Plan” in subject line. 

We must receive all proposals no later than 5 PM on March 21, 2021. 

Proposals and/or modifications received after this time will not be accepted or reviewed. 

F. Contract Time Period 

Contractors may begin work as soon as the selection process is complete. The project is expected to be completed by March 31, 2023.

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