There is great public concern about water quality in Missisquoi Bay and its watershed. The major tributary rivers of the Missisquoi Bay watershed are the Missisquoi River, Black Creek, Tyler Branch and Trout River (comprising basin #6 on the map) and the Rock and Pike Rivers (found in that northernmost portion of basin #5 on the map). In response, local citizen groups, landowners, towns, and public agencies have been working for years to reduce pollution in the basin and to spread the word about how everyone can help. Ongoing actions include stabilizing streambanks, improving municipal wastewater treatment, and adopting better road maintenance and farming practices.

The State of Vermont is seeking to build on this work by supporting a collaborative planning and implementation process in the Vermont portion of the 767,000 acre watershed shared with the Province of Quebec. The process will bring together homeowners, farmers, local officials, business people, and other concerned citizens to help determine how best to protect and restore water quality in Missisquoi Bay and its watershed. Throughout the planning, work will continue with projects that will immediately address known impacts on water quality, including new projects identified through the planning process.

The watershed planning process began formally in early 2005 with a series of public forums. Citizens were invited to voice their concerns about water quality and their ideas for addressing them at five locations around the basin (summaries of each forum can be accessed through the link below). The top water quality concerns raised at the forums were:

• Impacts of excessive phosphorus and the resulting algal blooms in Missisquoi Bay and Lake Carmi
• Soil erosion from streambanks, cropland, construction, and roads
• Phosphorus in runoff from developed and agricultural land
• Phosphorus and bacteria from wastewater sources, including failing shoreline septic systems
• Lack of water quality monitoring to identify source areas and track progress in pollution control
• Lack of funding, coordination, and prioritization for water quality improvement activities
• General lack of public awareness of how everyone's actions affect water quality
• The presence and effects of pollutants other than phosphorus (eg mercury and pesticides)
• Loss of the working landscape (farm and forest) and sensitive animal habitat to development
• Impacts of the bridge causeway (and other causeways) on water quality in Missisquoi Bay
• Declines in fishing and suitable fish habitat

A watershed council consisting of a diverse mix of stakeholders from within the watershed has been meeting in order to look into these and other issues. Ultimately, the council will develop a series of action strategies for protecting high quality waters in the watershed and restoring those that are not currently meeting State standards.

If you would like more information about the watershed initiative, including how you can get involved, please contact Barry Gruessner, Vermont DEC Watershed Coordinator, at the office of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission located in St. Albans, Vermont.

As of September 2006, the Missisquoi Bay watershed planning process has produced a draft set of preliminary strategies to protect and restore waters within the watershed.  Those draft strategies can be viewed by clicking here.

• Basin #6 Missisquoi River Watershed Water Quality Assessment Report (11/04) (pdf, 2.7 MB)
• Completed Basin Plan Example: White River Basin (pdf, 1.4 MB)
• Guidelines for Watershed Planning (pdf, 374 KB)
• Lake Champlain Basin Program
• Lake Champlain Basin Program Atlas
• Lake Champlain Research Consortium Partnership for Research and Integration in the Missisquoi Ecosystem (PRIME)
• Map of Vermont's 17 River Basins
• Meeting Notes & Meeting Summary Notes
• Missisquoi Bay Watershed Phosphorus Load Monitoring Program Workplan (May 2005) (pdf, 288 KB)
• Missisquoi River Basin Association
• Vermont Clean and Clear Action Plan

Updated: March 2007