Androscoggin River

The Androscoggin flowing past Lewiston, Maine

The Androscoggin begins in Errol, New Hampshire, where the Magalloway River joins the outlet of Umbagog Lake. The river flows generally south but with numerous bends past the towns of Errol and Milan and the city of Berlin before turning east at the town of Gorham, New Hampshire, to cut across the northern end of the White Mountains and enter Maine. Continuing east, the river passes the towns of Bethel, Rumford, and Dixfield before turning south at the town of Livermore Falls and leaving the mountains behind. The river passes through the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn, turns southeast, passes the community of Lisbon Falls and reaches tidewater just below the final falls in the town of Brunswick. Merrymeeting Bay is a 10-mile-long (16 km) freshwater estuary where the Androscoggin meets the Kennebec River nearly 20 miles (32 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

The Androscoggin was once heavily polluted by a variety of textile mills, paper mills, and other industries located along its banks, and helped inspire the Clean Water Act.[9] The river has benefited greatly from environmental work and the departure of certain types of industry from the region. As a result, the amount of contaminated wastewater being released into the river has greatly decreased. However, several mills still release chemical waste into the river, albeit in much smaller amounts. From the 1940s through the 2000s, the Androscoggin was so polluted that some environmental groups listed it as one of the 20 most polluted rivers in the United States.[10] The pollution became so severe that until very recently, one 14-mile (23 km) stretch required oxygen bubblers to prevent fish from suffocating.[9] As of May 2007, environmental groups had a lawsuit pending, in an attempt to force the paper mills located along the river to clean their waste streams. Most companies have agreed to slow the amount of wastewater discharge, but only a few have completely stopped, with other companies citing cost as a prime factor for continued pollution.[9]

On April 15, 2020, a large explosion occurred at the Verso Paper Mill, located on the river. It is unknown what impacts, either negative or positive, the explosion and the mill's indefinite closing will have on water quality.[11][12]

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains four river flow gauges on the Androscoggin River. All four are below one or more dams.

The first is at Errol, New Hampshire (44°46′57″N 71°07′46″W), where the watershed is 1,046 square miles (2,710 km²). Flow here has ranged from 16,500 to 0 ft³/s (467 and 0 m³/s) (zero flow when dam closed). The mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 1,919 ft³/s (54.3 m³/s).

The second is near Gorham, New Hampshire (44°26′10″N 71°11′27″W), where the watershed is 1,361 square miles (3,520 km²). Flow here has ranged from 21,900 to a mean daily low of 795 ft³/s (620 and 22.5 m³/s) (lows when dam closed). The mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 2,512 ft³/s (71 m³/s).

The third is at Rumford, Maine (44°33′04″N 70°32′38″W), where the watershed is 2,068 square miles (5,360 km²). Flow here has ranged from 74,000 to 625 ft³/s (2,094 and 17.7 m³/s). The mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 3,801 ft³/s (107.6 m³/s).

The fourth is at Auburn, Maine (44°04′20″N 70°12′31″W), where the watershed is 3,263 square miles (8,450 km²). Flow here has ranged from 135,000 to 340 ft³/s (3,820.5 and 9.6 m³/s).[5]

Stereoscopic image "Under the bridge at Berlin Falls", by the Bierstadt Brothers

The ancient name for the river was Pescedona, which is Abenaki for "a branch".

According to the USGS, variant names for the Androscoggin River include Amasagu'nteg, Amascongan, Ambrose Coggin, Ammeriscoggin, Ammoscoggin, Amos Coggin, Amoscommun, Anasagunticook, Anconganunticook, Andrews Coggin, Andros Coggan, Andros Coggin, Androscoggen, Andrus Coggin, Aumoughcaugen, and Ameriscoggin River.

The average Androscoggin drop of eight feet per mile made it an excellent source of water power encouraging development of the cities of Berlin, New Hampshire, and Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, and the Maine towns of Brunswick, Topsham, Lisbon Falls, Livermore Falls, Chisholm, Mexico, Rumford and Bethel.[16]

Listed from source to mouth of Androscoggin, with location of tributary's mouth:

• Magalloway River, Errol, New Hampshire
• Clear Stream, Errol, New Hampshire
• Mollidgewock Brook, Errol, New Hampshire
• Chickwolnepy Stream, Milan, New Hampshire
• Dead River, Berlin, New Hampshire
• Moose Brook, Gorham, New Hampshire
• Moose River, Gorham, New Hampshire
• Peabody River, Gorham, New Hampshire
• Wild River, Gilead, Maine
• Pleasant River, Bethel, Maine
• Alder River, Bethel, Maine
• Sunday River, Bethel, Maine
• Bear River, Newry, Maine
• Ellis River, Rumford, Maine
• Concord River, Rumford, Maine
• Swift River, Rumford and Mexico, Maine
• Webb River, Dixfield, Maine
• Dead River, Leeds, Maine
• Nezinscot River, Turner, Maine
• Little Androscoggin River, Auburn, Maine
• Sabattus River, Lisbon, Maine
• Little River, Lisbon Falls, Maine

• McFarlane, Wallace Scot, “Defining a Nuisance: Pollution, Science, and Environmental Politics on Maine’s Androscoggin River,” Environmental History, 17 (April 2012), 307–35.

• MaineRivers.org Androscoggin River profile
• Real-time flow data for the Errol, NH, Gorham, NH, Rumford, ME, and Auburn, ME gages.
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Androscoggin River
• USGS River Basin Info
• Androscoggin River Watershed Council
• Characterization of Mercury Contamination in the Androscoggin River, Coos County, New Hampshire United States Geological Survey