Last Updated: January 2023

Author: Toxicological Sciences Program, Vermont Department of Health

Environmental Health Division coordinates with the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, and the Lake Champlain Committee to survey Lake Champlain and inland lakes throughout the summer season. Visual assessments are forwarded to VDH staff and recorded on a VDH website real-time which the public can access. Toxin samples are taken as necessary. Any recreational swim areas threatened by the presence of cyanobacteria are recommended to close as are swim areas with toxins identified above standards. For more information, check out our Cyanobacteria Tracker.

Department of Environmental Conservation, Lake Champlain Committee, State parks, town beach managers and local recreation committees, regulators, environmentalists, parents and the general public.

We believe this program represents an important model in public health protection. Initially, much of the data about cyanobacteria blooms came from government employees and University of Vermont scientists. With changes in funding sources, the public has been recruited to collect an important share of the data. In addition, tools developed for other purposes have been adapted and expertise devoted to other projects have been leveraged to create the Cyanobacteria Tracker. In response to circumstance that might have actually reduced the quality of results, we believe results are much improved, especially because the public is now not just a beneficiary of public health protection.