The Challenge
Otter Lake is a 770-acre public water supply reservoir with a 13,000-acre watershed, serving approximately 17,000 people across eight towns and two water districts in three counties. With an average daily output of 1.8 million gallons, maintaining the health and water quality of the reservoir is critical to the communities that depend on it.
The Otter Lake Water Commission needed a long-term strategy to address regulatory water quality impairments, improve the overall health of the lake, reduce water treatment costs, and enhance its recreational value. Achieving these goals required a comprehensive understanding of pollutant sources and watershed conditions, along with a practical plan for implementing improvements.
Our Solution
Spheros Environmental began working with the Otter Lake Water Commission in 2010 to design and implement a long-term source water protection program.
The team conducted comprehensive lake and watershed assessments, modeling, monitoring, and shoreline erosion surveys to identify and quantify the sources and causes of water quality impairments. Working with local landowners and stakeholders, Spheros used these findings to develop a detailed, multi-phase implementation strategy incorporating watershed and in-lake treatment practices.
In 2016, Spheros completed an updated watershed management plan that synthesized previous studies and used advanced mapping and modeling to quantify nutrient and sediment loading. The plan identified new opportunities for watershed and in-lake improvements and helped position the Commission to secure funding for implementation.
Spheros has also served as program manager for the ongoing initiative, providing technical expertise, strategic planning, funding support, and project management to advance source water protection efforts.
Program Manager
Results +What makes this unique
The long-term program has produced measurable improvements in Otter Lake’s water quality. Aquatic algae and manganese were delisted as regulatory impairments, and the reservoir achieved full support for its designated public and food-processing water supply use.
Spheros has helped the Otter Lake Water Commission secure more than $1 million in state and federal funding for water quality improvements. The 2016 watershed management plan also directly supported an $800,000 USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant to implement conservation practices on agricultural land.
The program received the American Water Works Association Water Source Protection Award, recognizing its success in protecting an important public water supply. By combining watershed science, advanced mapping and modeling, stakeholder coordination, funding strategy, and long-term program management, the project provides a comprehensive model for turning source water protection planning into measurable improvements.