Chittenden Reservoir Day, the annual cleanup and celebration of the lake, will be held on Vermont Green Up Day May 5 – thanks to Tropical Storm Irene.
“Because CV Greenteam volunteers spent much of the fall helping customers clean up after Irene struck, we didn’t hold Reservoir Day last fall as usual, so we decided to hold it in the spring this year to give the reservoir a good sprucing up as the recreation season begins,” said Steve Costello, spokesman for CVPS, which organizes the annual event. “Scheduling it on Green Up Day seemed to make sense.”
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with cleanup in the morning hours and a hotdog cookout starting at noon. Free T-shirts will be given to the first 200 participants.
Chittenden Reservoir took two years to build and began providing renewable energy in 1909. The 750-acre reservoir and land below it is owned by CVPS, along with the parking area and boat launch, which are leased by the State of Vermont.
Besides its role as a CVPS hydroelectric facility, the reservoir is one of Vermont’s most pristine recreation sites. Seventeen square miles of mountainous terrain drain into the reservoir, creating spectacular habitat for dozens of species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and mammals. Home to bald eagles and ospreys, moose, beavers and loons, the reservoir is one of Vermont’s most undeveloped mountain lakes.
Volunteers will fan out on land and water to scour campsites, isolated beaches and wetlands. Since Chittenden Reservoir first began in 2002, several tons of trash has been picked up and deposited in dumpsters provided free by Casella Waste Management, which is co-sponsoring the event again this year, as does every year.
Co-sponsors also include Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center, which will provide kayak tours of the lake; Green Mountain National Forest, which will provide educational materials about the forest surrounding the reservoir; the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, which will conduct a Let’s Go Fishing seminar for children at 12:30 p.m.; and radio station WJJR.
“Chittenden Reservoir has been serving Rutland County’s electrical and recreational needs for over a hundred years,” Costello said. “Reservoir Day is our annual effort to give back to the natural resources and help ensure a pristine environment is maintained for public use.”
Central Vermont Public Service
Contact: Steve Costello
802.747.5697
Do you have a date for the reservoir cleanup this year? Our kayaks are ready to go!