Photo Credit: Chris Gill
The Missisquoi River runs for approximately 88 miles. From the headwaters in Lowell, Vermont, it flows north into Quebec where Missisquoi Nord joins the main stem at Highwater, QC. The river then returns to Vermont in East Richford and flows west to drain into the Missisquoi Bay of Lake Champlain. The Missisquoi Bay drains 1,200 square miles of northwestern Vermont and southern Quebec, and approximately sixty percent of the drainage area is in Vermont.
Our land use practices over the past few centuries have degraded water quality in the Missisquoi River and Bay. The Missisquoi Bay now accounts for over one third of all non-point source phosphorus in Lake Champlain. Phase 1 of the Implementation Plan for the Lake Champlain TMDL calls for a 75% reduction in phosphorus inputs into Missisquoi Bay.
To achieve this goal, the Missisquoi River Basin must take an all in approach to reducing phosphorus input into our rivers and streams.