The Mount Hope River begins at the dam which releases water from Morey Pond, at the Ashford-Union border, adjacent to Interstate 84.

From here, the river flows south through Ashford, roughly paralleling Route 89, and passing under this road several times.

The Mount Hope River watershed covers an area of approximately 28 square miles in northeastern Connecticut.

Runoff from agricultural fields, residential areas, and roads is considered to be the culprit of these higher-than-normal bacteria levels.

[1] One section of the Mount Hope River in Ashford, at its junction with Basset Brook, had been in a degraded state for a significant amount of time.