Mad River Watch volunteers reported many changes visible after the July 10 and 11 flooding that impacted this watershed and others. On July 21 and 22, volunteers visited their field sites and reported back on the post-flood findings.
Here is what volunteers found.
Jenn Grant, Waitsfield:
Just back from visiting Ward’s Access. “Wow” was the first word out of my mouth when I went down the stairs. The bottom six or so steps were covered in silt, they sit a good 30 feet from the riverbank. The next thing I noticed was that the entire beach area was completely reformed. What used to be a 100-foot, gently sloping beach for families to enjoy is now a steep bank on all but about 20 feet. After measuring the river temperature, conductivity and PH level, the next thing that struck me was the absence of trash. Typically, on my Monday morning visits, there is a small garbage bag of trash left behind from picnicking swimmers. Today I found a small piece of glass and a kid’s plastic turtle. Not a cigarette butt, no water-swollen diapers, nothing but a strange white 4-foot PVC pipe inserted vertically in the beach. Does this mean our warnings were heeded and families stayed clear of post-flood waters or has the storm changed it from the family-friendly refuge that is has been for years? On a bright note, however, there was a family of 10 Common Merganser chicks and their mom, enjoying the river. So, perhaps the human families will return someday soon.
Ruth Lacey, Waitsfield:
The floods from Beryl came over the banks at the Mill Brook sampling site. When walking toward the site, about 50 yards from the brook, there was a lot of silt, and large tree trunks. We could see that the grasses in the area were matted down by the rushing water. When we got to the test site, the deposited rocks have made such a large island that the brook is now all in a narrow channel at the north side of the brook, and there are some mini-rapids because the water has been funneled into a narrower space. The banks have been washed out so that it was very difficult to get down to the test site. Fairly dramatic changes here. There had been some clearing around here prior to Beryl, but it looks even more open. We also took a walk to where Mill Brook meets the Mad River, and the new rock deposition is very obvious.
Haiku by Ruth Lacey:
Sampling post-Beryl
Sites show power of water
And resilience
Rick Hungerford, Moretown:
There is a prominent new gravel bar that has formed just below the USGS gage dam at the site.
While sampling a neighbor came out and told me about a bank collapse on the other side of the river somewhere up in the woods. This clay bank is presently clouding the river from the gage north to the Winooski. I have been noticing the color change since the July 10 event and this explains it.
Bill Bundren and Barbee Whitaker, Waitsfield:
Both Barbee and I were surprised that there did not seem to be much change in the Mad River at the Wabenaki Conservation Area after the storms of the past week. Water is clear and flowing nicely, only slightly higher than usual.
What we noticed, however, is a possible on-going change a little up-river from our site. Maybe about 100 feet upstream, it looks like the flood deposited many smallish boulders (in the 100-pound range) on the east side of the river. There has always been somewhat of a flat area on that side, where, in past years, we would see plants beginning to grow in the river. No plants now, but it looks like the boulders are re-directing the river flow to the west side of the river. The change is sufficient that the west side now has a pronounced sluice or class 1 white-water channel. The flow pattern is also noteworthy, starting upstream at about 15-feet wide and narrowing to about 3 to 4 feet, defining the "sluice" I noted above. The sluice portion is about one-third out into the river flow, currently clear of any increased current that might affect the west bank.
I mention this only because our part of the river under and around the bridge is generally flat water. Will keep a closer eye on whether we have a new water pattern developing.
Julie Westervelt, Warren:
The Warren covered bridge site is showing good resiliency to the significant flooding during the past two years, but there are some signs of erosion on the eastern bank and an increase in rocky deposition on the western bank on the downstream side of the bridge. The river has changed course slightly to the east. Prior to the July 2023 flood, there was a calm eddy next to the ledge rock near the bridge which harbored lots of aquatic life including tadpoles, fish fry and bug larvae. The water now rushes through it and has replaced the silt with rocks. There’s also been a steady buildup of rocks in the middle of the river creating a small area of rapids. Plants, such as grasses and wildflowers, that had started to become established along the banks two years ago are now completely gone. Also absent is much debris like fallen trees, only two uprooted small birch trees, although there are some more logs and debris piled up at the old dam site just downstream.
Dave Jackson, Moretown:
No one would recognize the current Dowsville Brook versus the one from a few weeks ago. Utter destruction. Beyond the bridge on 100B being destroyed and quickly replaced, the riverbed has been dramatically changed. The unreal amount of water that fell cut deep and wide. The brook has 3-plus-foot nearly vertical sidewalls now and has widening its banks by two to three times its previous footprint in spots.
Downstream before the Dowsville connects to the Mad River, the brook widened out even more. Broadening its banks and creating new islands as the water receded. The river is surprisingly alive with birds and the tracks show deer using the bridge as an underpass of Route 100B. The water washed away the old brook leaving a new one in its place.
This article is part of an ongoing series that shares highlights from this field work as well as lessons learned from this year and the past 40 years of Friends of the Mad River’s Mad River Watch program.
