USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with partners and using the latest science and research to help improve water quality. In 2022, NRCS and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated on a study to evaluate the water quality in the Lake Champlain watershed. The study used NASA’s Earth observations to identify the size and seasonal trends of harmful algal blooms in Lake Champlain. 

Lake Champlain sits between New York, Vermont and the Province of Quebec in Canada. The lake is used by nearly a quarter-million people for sport-fishing, boating, tourism and drinking water and is important to the local economy.

Lake Champlain is impaired by excess phosphorus, which can cause algal blooms, also known as blue-green algae blooms. More intense and frequent rainfall also play a part. This impacts water quality, creates odors, harms aquatic life and reduces recreational use of the lake. Current levels of blue-green algae and phosphorus create breeding grounds for harmful algal blooms. The excess phosphorus runoff into Lake Champlain over the past decade has encouraged toxic cyanobacterial formations that increase bloom severity. Phosphorus is found in fertilizer, animal feed and manure, which is necessary for crop growth, but can harm aquatic ecosystems. 

“Phosphorus is one of the nutrient pollutants found in runoff and is one of the biggest threats to water quality in the lake,” said Luis Hernandez, NRCS Northeast Soil Survey Regional Director who worked with NASA on the study.

Conservation Priorities

NRCS and NASA’s scientists detect algal bloom trends using NASA Earth observation data sets. 

A set of geospatial layers incorporated into NRCS geospatial datasets can then be used to identify areas designated for conservation activities such as nutrient management, soil health management and farm runoff control. This research can guide the study of dynamic soil properties, soil survey work and other conservation actions taking place within the watershed.

Ninety-seven percent of the U.S. is rural, and farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners are the stewards of our land. Voluntary conservation efforts on these private lands can greatly improve our shared resources. 

Explore NRCS’s water quality programs to support clean, abundant water for agriculture and forestry, or read more about NASA’s research here.