Conservation efforts in Burlington, Vermont were given a boost Friday by an EPA grant to help clean up Lake Champlain. EPA administrator Gina McCarthy appeared at a press conference in Burlington to announce the $67,000 federal technical assistance grant.

Lake Champlain, like many other freshwater sources in the US, has an increasing problem with algal blooms due to excess phosphorus runoff from agriculture and industry. Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plant growth and is found in most fertilizers, but when too much enters rivers and lakes, algae thrives at the expense of the ecosystem.

These large-scale blooms of algae can reduce the levels of oxygen in surrounding water enough to cause massive fish kill-offs and damage countless freshwater species.

This is a national problem, and while cleaning up Burlington may not be as exciting as cleaning up a national park, it is still important. “Water quality is not just about pristine areas,” McCarthy said. “It’s also about cities; it’s about economies.”

According to Mayor Miro Weinberger, the EPA funds will help strengthen the city’s commitment to natural solutions dealing with storm and wastewater runoff. Plans include the installation of more waterfront wetlands and sub-sidewalk tree planters to provide receptacles for excess phosphorus while increasing visual beauty.

McCarthy described the fight against phosphorus runoff as much like the country’s issues with acid rain in the past: “People at the time said it was an insurmountable challenge; they said the economy would buckle. Did it cost money? Absolutely,” she said. “But it was a fabulous success story.”

McCarthy also vowed that the EPA would not falter in its support of this clean up in and around Lake Champlain. “People don’t want to wait for an improvement,” she said. “We need to deliver it soon, and I believe we will.”