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Missisquoi River Watershed Updated Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat

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Missisquoi River Watershed Updated Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat Missisquoi River Watershed Including Pike and Rock Rivers in Vermont Updated Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat Assessment Report August 2015 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Management Division Monitoring, Assessment, and Planning Program Table of Contents Missisquoi River Watershed ......................................................................................................... 1 General Description .................................................................................................................. 1 Missisquoi River .................................................................................................................... 1 Rock River ............................................................................................................................. 1 Pike River .............................................................................................................................. 2 Earlier Information on the Rivers within this Report .................................................................. 2 Missisquoi River Basin Association sampling ........................................................................ 2 Upper Missisquoi River ................................................................................................................. 3 General Description .................................................................................................................. 3 Upper Missisquoi River and Tributaries Summary of Segments with Impacts .......................... 3 Assessment Information for the Upper Missisquoi Watershed .................................................. 4 Biological Monitoring for the Upper Mississquoi 2004 – 2014 ............................................... 4 Physical Assessments for Upper Missisquoi ....................................................................... 10 Hazardous Waste Sites ....................................................................................................... 11 Jay Branch Subwatershed of Upper Missisquoi Watershed ....................................................... 12 General Description ................................................................................................................ 12 Jay Branch Summary of Segments with Impacts .................................................................... 13 Assessment Information for the Jay Branch Subwatershed .................................................... 14 Biological Monitoring Results .............................................................................................. 14 Water Chemistry Monitoring Results 2004 – 2014 .............................................................. 17 Mid and Lower Missisquoi River ................................................................................................. 18 General Watershed Description .............................................................................................. 18 Mid Missisquoi River and Tributaries Segments with Impacts ................................................ 19 Assessment Information for the Mid and Lower Missisquoi River ........................................... 20 Biological Monitoring for the Mid and Lower Mississquoi 2004 – 2014* .............................. 21 Fisheries .............................................................................................................................. 24 Hazardous sites ................................................................................................................... 25 Lampricide impacts ............................................................................................................. 26 Black Creek ................................................................................................................................ 27 General Description ................................................................................................................ 27 Summary of Segments with Impacts ....................................................................................... 27 Assessment Information for the Black Creek Watershed ........................................................ 27 Biological Monitoring for the Black Creek watershed 2004 – 2014 ...................................... 27 Water Quality Monitoring ..................................................................................................... 28 Tyler Branch ............................................................................................................................... 30 General Description ................................................................................................................ 30 Summary of Segments with Impacts ....................................................................................... 30 Assessment Information for the Tyler Branch Watershed ....................................................... 30 Biological Monitoring in the Tyler Branch Watershed .......................................................... 30 Biological Monitoring Needed in the Tyler Branch Watershed............................................. 31 Water Quality Monitoring ..................................................................................................... 31 Physical Assessments ......................................................................................................... 31 Trout River .................................................................................................................................. 34 General Description ................................................................................................................ 34 Summary of Segments with Impacts ....................................................................................... 34 Assessment InformationTrout River Watershed ...................................................................... 34 Biological Monitoring in the Trout River Watershed 2004 – 2014 ........................................ 34 Rock and Pike Rivers ................................................................................................................. 36 General Description ................................................................................................................ 36 Summary of Segments with Impacts ....................................................................................... 37 Assessment Information for the Rock and Pike Rivers ........................................................... 38 Biological Monitoring for the Rock and Pike Rivers 2004 – 2014 ........................................ 38 Chemistry Data for Rock and Pike Rivers ........................................................................... 38 References and Resources ........................................................................................................ 39 Websites ................................................................................................................................. 40 Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................... 1 History of Impacts to Jay Branch & tributaries .......................................................................... 1 Jay Peak Village and golf course development water and wetland issues ............................ 1 Post WQ Remediation Plans ................................................................................................. 2 Appendix 2.................................................................................................................................... 5 Water Quality Monitoring results for 2013 and 2014 ................................................................. 5 Water Quality Monitoring Results from 2013 ......................................................................... 5 Water Quality Monitoring Results from 2014 ......................................................................... 6 Missisquoi River Watershed And the Rock and Pike Rivers within the U.S. General Description Missisquoi River The Missisquoi River rises near the town of Lowell, flows northward into Canada crossing the border at North Troy, returns to the United States at East Richford, Vermont and then follows a westerly direction to Lake Champlain. The highest point in the watershed is Jay Peak at elevation 3,861 feet. The watershed drains 855 square miles of which 619 square miles are in Vermont and 236 square miles are in Canada. Its length is about 88 miles. The major tributaries include Black Creek, Tyler Branch, and the Trout River, which come from the south, and Mud Creek and the North Branch, which flow from the north. The Upper Missisquoi is the stretch from the junction of Burgess Branch and the East Branch northwest of Lowell village to the Canadian border in North Troy. From the confluence of these two branches, the Missisquoi River flows in a northerly direction. As it flows into the town of Westfield, Snider Brook joins the river. About three and a half miles downstream, the river passes east of Westfield village and Taft Brook enters the river. In another four miles, Beetle Brook flows into the river. The river flows over Phelps Falls dam and then north still with Jay Branch, which carries the flow of its watershed as well as that of its tributary Crook Brook, joining the river from the west. The
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