While most people proclaim, “Happy New Year!” when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, hydrologists wait a bit longer – celebrating the start of the “water year” a few months later. The water year is a twelve-month period, but it varies from the typical Gregorian calendar, running from October 1st to September 30th of the following year.
̽̽’s Water Resources Institute and the Vermont Water Resources & Lake Studies Center utilized the hydrologic holiday for their own purposes, using it as a chance to convene a networking event with the community. On September 30th, the eve of the water year 2025, staff from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the Gund Institute, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, and the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships joined faculty and students from CALS, CAS, CESS, CEMS, GSB, LCOM, and RSENR to ring in the new water year. The “Happy New Water Year!” event gave a variety of organizations the chance to gather, socialize, and learn just what a hydrologic water year is!
The start of a hydrological year is important, as it is used to compare precipitation levels to runoff, allowing for a greater understanding of water supply. The calendar is characterized by an October starting point, as precipitation at the end of the typical calendar-year impacts flow in waterways in the following spring. Snow that falls in November and December is stored in the watershed until the following spring, when warmer temperatures turn the snow into surface runoff.
Scientific significance aside, the event provided an opportunity for the Water Resources Institute and the Vermont Water Resources & Lake Studies Center to gather students, staff, and faculty together to celebrate the diverse interests and expertise in water flowing at ̽̽.
