The Situation

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In July 2023, an environmental disaster struck Lake Champlain, a treasured natural resource on the Vermont and New York border. Intense rainstorms overwhelmed the City of Burlington's archaic wastewater management infrastructure and caused a staggering one million gallons of untreated human sewage to flow into the lake by way of the Winooski River in just five days.

The consequences were devastating:

• Vast blooms of toxic algae spread across the lake's shores due to the increased nitrogen in the water.
• These blooms created "dead zones" devoid of oxygen, wrecking havoc among aquatic ecosystems.
• The lake became and often still is unsafe for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities.

Similar sewage discharges have continued since July 2023 when significant rainfall occurs in the area.

At the heart of this crisis is the City of Burlington's failure to properly maintain and upgrade its wastewater management infrastructure, much of which dates to the mid-1900s. Despite knowing the risks posed by its antiquated system and raising $30 million to modernize it in 2018, the City has failed to do so. These horrifying sewage discharges are the unacceptable result.

With climate change fueling more frequent and severe storms, the amount of untreated sewage being discharged into Lake Champlain is higher than ever. Unless the City of Burlington takes swift and comprehensive action to overhaul its sewage system, the health of this vital water body will continue to deteriorate. A lake, once treasured for its cleanliness, will be no more.

Unsurprisingly, the City of Burlington's current plan is to hire a consultant to study potential long-term solutions. Meanwhile, with each passing storm, more raw sewage pours into the lake, compounding the damage. Unless we force the City to act now, this harm to our beautiful lake will pass the point of no return.

Immediate action is needed to address this urgent problem. The City of Burlington must commit to making the necessary infrastructure upgrades now, even if that requires reprioritizing already budgeted funds. Taxpayers must NOT be required to contribute significantly to the cost of repairs – the City has already wasted tens of millions of their dollars while failing to address this issue.

In the face of this crisis, we must demand immediate action from the City of Burlington. Shock the System's inaugural campaign this July will use brand-new technology to coordinate a modern activist campaign that will force the City to fix the issue, address the damage already done, and ensure it does not happen again.

The power to protect Lake Champlain and its many inhabitants — mythical or otherwise — is in our hands. Coordinated, actionable communities aligned around a common goal are unstoppable, as this campaign will demonstrate. Our time to act is now. Join the campaign today to Save Champ!