1927 Flood

Floods of the 70s

Floods of the 90’s

Irene

Flash Floods

Flood Disasters Since 1927 Vermont has experienced a large-scale disastrous floods once every 14 years. From , Vermont has suffered approximately 25 disastrous floods of regional-scale. Data Source: VT DEC Rivers Program

Vermont’s River and Road Training

– Past Flood Experiences: Irene and all the others – VTrans Irene Recovery Committee Priority VTrans staff Municipal road crews Contractors need to better understand how rivers work – ANR Priority Decrease impacts of road repairs to river stability Increase River Engineer efficiency in the field Decrease impacts of road repairs to instream habitat – State Legislative Directive – Forecasts for Increases in Flood Frequency Why a Rivers and Roads Training?

The Equilibrium Standard “An activity shall not cause a stream to depart from, further depart from, or prevent it from attaining the channel width, depth, meander pattern, and longitudinal slope associated with the stream processes and equilibrium conditions as they occur naturally in a given reach of stream.” ANR’s Stream Alterations Regulatory Goal: “Manage Toward River Equilibrium”

River Equilibrium Width Depth Roughness Slope Discharge Sediment Size and Quantity Equilibrium Depends on:

– Tier One: Awareness – Tier Two: Developing Understanding and Skills – Tier Three: Design and Construction Oversight River and Road Training Structure

Tier One: Awareness Online training that provides a general awareness and understanding of river processes, aquatic habitat and how transportation infrastructure affects and is affected by river stability.

Provide participants with: – An understanding of the mechanics or processes at play in river systems – The ability to recognize the difference between stable and unstable rivers – The skill to identify type, severity and causes of river instability – The ability to recognize important aquatic habitat features – The skills required to design and build river stability and habitat into road construction projects Tier Two: Developing Understanding and Skills

What to Expect

Rivers and Roads Field Manual

Important Features of Aquatic Habitat Riparian Vegetation “Clean” substrate Coarse Streambed Material Channel Dimensions Riparian Vegetation “Clean” substrate Coarse Streambed Material Channel Dimensions

Use VT Standard River Management Principles and Practices Guidance to: – select – design – oversee construction of projects……….. involving river instability and crossing structure repair and/or replacement. Tier Three: Design and Construction Oversight

Improving our management of day-to-day and post-flood stream alterations is a key component of Vermont’s River Resiliency Strategy