Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Torti said the beach closures were not only bad for locals trying to beat this week’s heat — he said the alerts send a bad message to tourists thinking of visiting the state.
More waterways than Lake Champlain have experienced the toxic cyanobacteria blooms that have closed the beaches, Torti said.
In Lake Carmi, about 85 percent of the phosphorus pollution comes from Franklin County farms.
Vermont farms aren’t the only sources of Lake Champlain’s excess phosphorus. But Vermont farms in particular eclipse all other sources in the state, and contribute more phosphorus to Lake Champlain than all sources — agricultural and otherwise — in the entire state of New York.
It’s not just the cyanobacteria outbreaks that’re the problem, however, Lyons said.
Lyons said this is not the time to shy away from the issue, and Lt Gov.
“It’s unfortunately becoming more common,” Moreau said.
South Hero would have needed another few days of warm weather to experience outbreaks similar to those elsewhere in the state, he said.