Water Quality & Flood Relief
Riverside Mobile Home Park
Riverside Mobile Home Park sits on a bend in the Ottauquechee River just upstream from Woodstock Union High School & Middle School. The park flooded in 2011 during Tropical Storm Irene, and again in the summer of 2023. Sustainable Woodstock is working alongside local partners and residents of Riverside Mobile Home Park to strengthen the community’s resilience to future flooding. We have also been awarded a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) planning grant, which will fund an engineering study to evaluate strategies that could lower flood heights at the park.
Barnard Brook Bank Restoration Project
Sustainable Woodstock’s Billings Community Garden is threatened by Barnard Brook; the bank is quickly eroding and encroaching on the garden, depositing sediment and nutrients into the brook. If the erosion continues, it is likely to threaten the downstream bridge. Sustainable Woodstock is proud to be the first nonprofit implementor to manage funds from the State Water Infrastructure Sponsorship Program (WISPr). On behalf of the Town and Village of Woodstock, Sustainable Woodstock has applied for and received approval for $227,014 in WISPr funding to cover the cost of implementing natural resource projects throughout the Town and Village. We will use these funds to stabilize the bank along Barnard Brook near Billings Farm, in partnership with the Woodstock Inn & Resort.
The Great VT Flood of 2023
On July 10-11, 2023 a large portion of Riverside Mobile Home Park was flooded as the Ottauquechee River rose and ran underneath homes, pouring through mobile home skirting. The water then receded, leaving a wet muddy sludge under homes. With the help of volunteers, Sustainable Woodstock removed mobile home skirting and power washed the slabs under the homes to prevent mold growth and moisture problems. We then raised $75,000 to make repairs, including new insulated mobile home skirting, new heat tape to prevent freezing pipes, new vapor barriers under homes, and addressing erosion under some of the mobile homes. All told, we worked with families to make repairs on 12 homes in the park. Many thanks to the VCF, the Hub, UV Strong for this funding.
