by Katherine Boyk
This article was published in the winter 2025-26 issue of our newsletter.
Normally our executive director, Liz Royer, would give you a big update on one of our major projects. But so many things have been happening this fall that I’m going to give you a quick update on several of them!
Low water levels on Lake Champlain’s Shelburne Bay in early October.
Drought
After two summers with extreme flooding, I think we were all a bit surprised to find ourselves in a drought this year. It was certainly disheartening to see both public water systems and residents with private wells running out of water this fall. Unlike during a flood, there was little that we at Vermont Rural Water could do to assist water and wastewater systems with the impacts of drought. But there are a few takeaways that could benefit systems in the future.
First, the State of Vermont updated the lists of bulk water haulers and well drillers, and created a drought reporting tool and map of water systems with drought impacts. Links to all of these can be found at vtruralwater.org/emergency-response/
Second, there was a need for residents whose private wells had run dry to obtain water from local public water systems. Most towns do not have a formal process for supplying water in this way. Now is the time to think about implementing a policy for future droughts. How much water can you provide? Will you charge for water? Where can people access water? How will you prevent backflows and cross contamination?
Federal Funding
Probably every federally funded organization has faced some level of anxiety and uncertainty this year, and Rural Water is no exception. USDA Rural Development’s funding and staffing levels have both decreased, which has broad impacts on the water and wastewater sector.
During the government shutdown, one of Vermont Rural Water’s federal funding sources was paused. We were fortunate that this did not impact our work or our staff because Liz and our board have worked hard to build a “rainy day” savings fund to get us through just this sort of situation.
Membership dollars, donations, and sponsorships are more important than ever in ensuring the continuity of our work. If you value our technical assistance, apprenticeships, and training classes, please consider making a donation.
And to all our members, sponsors, and advertisers, we give a genuine thank you. Your membership dollars and donations are what allowed our staff to continue working during the government shutdown.
Find materials for educating state and local elected officials about water and wastewater capacity at https://vtruralwater.org/water-sewer-housing/
Legislator education
In our last newsletter, Liz mentioned that we were creating materials to educate legislators about the water industry. Our goal is to help legislators understand capacity limitations at water and wastewater systems and how this should be considered when making new policies about housing and development.
We’ve created a webpage with information, a video, and case studies. It can be found at vtruralwater.org/water-sewer-housing/
PFAS Settlement
There was a $15 billion settlement against manufacturers of PFAS chemicals from a class-action lawsuit by the National Rural Water Association and the law firm Napoli Shkolnik PLLC.
Public water systems that have found detections of any PFAS chemical are eligible to receive payment from this settlement. Payment amounts will depend on the PFAS compound detected, the level of detection, and the system’s maximum daily flows.
So far, 18 public water systems in Vermont have received payments.
If your water system has tested for PFAS since June 22, 2023 and you did not join Phase 1, you are eligible to join Phase 2 of the settlement with 3M and DuPont. Go to www.napolilaw.com/nrwa-pfas to register your system.
Twelve other PFAS manufacturers are involved in this settlement. Stay tuned for more information about joining settlements with these companies.
The Claims Administrator has warned that class members have received spam notices or postcard reminders. Please be aware of potential spam or scams related to this settlement.