Water Activities   boat tours & canoe trips    start September 1 Bayou Vermilion Festival October 7    10 a.m. to 6 p.m.    at Vermilionville

BVD joins the Gulf Restoration Network in Demanding a Commitment to Louisiana's Coast & Communities. ________ Who can forget the 2005 Hurricane Season? The ferocity of recent hurricanes may be a sign that global warming is already intensifying tropical storms. And many scientists believe it will only get worse in coming decades. Join Environmental Defense in asking Congress to act on global warming. ________ Petition to Save America’s WETLAND Urge the President and Congress to make a commitment to coastal protection for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

Although the Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District has been around for over 20 years, this website is very new. We will add news of current projects and upcoming events, post publications and information, and provide updates on our activities.

In the past, the waters of the Bayou Vermilion have played a very important role in the transportation of goods up and down river. Although we no longer depend on the river as a form of commerce, its cleanliness and beauty still affects our local economy. 

Here at the Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District, we are working hard to revitalize the beauty of the Bayou Vermilion. 

Like cities and towns everywhere, the communities in the Bayou Vermilion Watershed are faced with the challenge of maintaining their fiscal health while also protecting the environment, their agricultural base and their unique characters. To have both a strong economy and a healthy environment, CLEAN WATER is a basic necessity. Protecting this resource for the long run requires.

• building cooperation among communities that share the watershed;
• identifying important water resources and threats to quality and quantity of water; and
• protecting groundwater and surface water from contamination.

This watershed approach to resource protection provides additional benefits in agricultural sustainability, forest health, wildlife habitat, and recreation.

It is our hope that through our efforts, you will begin to explore this unique environment, to discover its importance as a nursery and breeding ground for many plants and animals, its importance to other wildlife, and its role in the economy of Lafayette and the region.

It is also our hope that you will become more familiar with the serious challenges facing our watershed, and that your understanding will contribute to solutions.

Bayou Vermilion District has many challenges in front of it. Below we describe two of the major ones.

Challenge:  Reducing Non-Point Source Pollution.

We need to lessen the impact of pollution from diffuse or non-point sources. A non-point source is an activity that takes place over a broad area and results in the release of pollutants from many different locations. This type of pollution occurs when rainfall runs over land or through the ground, picking up pollutants and depositing them into the Bayou.

Impervious surfaces surrounding our businesses and homes in the form of driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots increase the amount of pollutants that enter water bodies. During heavy rain events, flooding often occurs because natural retention/detention areas have been built over.

Agriculture, forestry, residential, and urban development are examples of non-point sources of pollutants. Common pollutants from these activities include:

• Sediment from cropland, lawns and gardens, forestry activities, roadways, construction sites, and stream-bank erosion;

• Nutrients from cropland, livestock operations, wildlife, septic systems, land receiving waste application, and over-fertilization of lawns, gardens, parks, & golf courses;

• Oxygen-demanding substances such as leaf & grass clippings flow into the watershed through sewer drains;

• Bacteria from livestock, wildlife, septic systems, land receiving waste application, and urban runoff;

• Human-made chemicals, including pesticides, from roadways, cropland, lawns and gardens, and forestry; and

• An array of other pollutants include trash from litter & dumping, paints, solvents, detergents, cleaners, & automotive products such as oil & anti-freeze.

Challenge: Increasing Public Access to Natural Areas.

We believe that the quality of our natural environment contributes to a sense of place and quality of life for all residents of the Bayou Vermilion watershed. We also firmly believe that a quality natural environment has social, recreational, educational and economic benefits, providing more interesting landscapes, a more pleasant environment and greater opportunities to attract business, investment and tourism.

Why do we care about public access? Because we believe that every resident deserves not only a clean Bayou, but also a way to experience and enjoy it and the natural areas in the watershed. If people are allowed to use the Bayou, then they will appreciate it, and they will defend it. Our goal is to expand access to the Bayou for a variety of uses – canoeing, kayaking, fishing, nature study, environmental research and education, art, and just relaxing and contemplating its grandeur – in order to improve the lives of this generation and the ones that follow.

© Copyright 2006 BVD. All Rights Reserved.
Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District, PO Box 4736, Lafayette, LA 70502
tel.337.237.8360   fax.337.237.8360

contact webmaster