New (02/01/2012)

Final Basin 17 Water Quality Management Plan (pdf 4.8MB) and Appendix (pdf 1.1MB)

The Vermont portions of the St Francis River Watershed encompass a total of 589 sq miles including the Vermont portions of the Lake Memphremagog Drainage as well as the Tomifobia and Coaticook River watersheds.   The Lake Memphremagog watershed drainage area encompasses a total of about 687 square miles of which 489 square miles (71%) are located in Vermont and 198 square miles (29%) are in the Province of Quebec.  Although the majority of the lake's watershed is found within Vermont, about three-quarters of the lake's 38 square mile surface area is located in Quebec.

There are three main rivers in the Vermont portion of the lake's drainage basin - the Black, Barton and Clyde Rivers, which flow northerly and empty into the southern end of Lake Memphremagog, also known as South Bay.  These three rivers drain close to 65% of the lake's entire watershed area.  A smaller river, the Johns River begins in the Town of Derby, Vermont, flows northwesterly into Quebec for a short distance and then back into Vermont and Lake Memphremagog. 

The Vermont portion of this basin is rich in lakes and ponds, encompassing Great and Little Hosmer Lakes, Lake Parker, Crystal Lake, Lake Willoughby, Island Pond, Great and Little Averill Ponds, Norton Pond, Holland Pond and Seymour Lake, along with many others.

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) began a watershed initiative in this basin in the fall of 2006.   Since this date a number of public forums were held in the basin and a watershed council was established.  The Draft Basin 17 Water Quality Management Plan was approved in January of 2011.

The Basin 17 Watershed Council prioritized the following issues that were addressed in the Basin 17 water quality management plan and included 79 actions to reduce pollution from these sources.

• Nutrient enrichment and Algae blooms caused by:

• Exotic Invasive Species
• Reduced aquatic habitat conditions caused by:

During this process the following projects and studies have been completed to support water quality in the basin:

• Stream geomorphic assessments of the Clyde (PDF, 5.1 MB), Barton and Johns (PDF, 6.9 MB) and Black Rivers completed by the NorthWoods Stewardship Center
• Water quality sampling report   (PDF, 1 MB) to identify phosphorus source areas in the basin in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 report  (PDF, 1 MB), 2010 report (PDF, 2.6MB) ,  2011 completed by the NorthWoods Stewardship Center and Memphremagog Watershed Association
• Buffer plantings in the City of Newport by the Memphremagog Watershed Association
• The Establishment of the Trees for Streams and Lakeshore buffering programs by the Orleans Natural Resources Conservation District
• The initiation of water quality and watershed studies necessary for the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load for phosphorus in Lake Memphremagog
• Buffer planting projects and outreach projects supported by watershed grants in Craftsbury and Albany
• Support for a number of Better Backroad grants to address runoff for the towns of Charleston, Newport Town, Westmore, and Morgan.

For more information about this important water quality management planning effort, persons can contact Ben Copans in St. Johnsbury at (802) 751-2610.

Memphremagog Watershed Newsletter

• Spring and Summer 2008 (PDF, 322KB)
• Fall 2008 (PDF, 398KB)

• Completed Basin Plan Example: White River Basin (PDF, 1.4 MB)
• Tactical Basin Planning
• Map of Vermont's 17 River Basins
• Vermont Clean and Clear Action Plan
• Directory of Watershed & Lake Associations within Vermont (October 2003)
• Lake Memphremagog Watershed Water Quality Assessment Report (March 2006) (PDF, 1 MB)
• Memphremagog Conservation Inc. (MCI)

• Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)

• Northwoods Stewardship Center

• 2008 Quebec-Vermont  report on The Water quality of Lake Memphremagog  (PDF, 5MB)
• Seymour Lakes Association
• Echo Lake Protective Association
• Memphremagog Watershed Association

Updated: January 2012