U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, WRD New York District, Troy, NY WATER RESOURCES REVIEW AND CURRENT CONDITIONS STATEMENT FOR MAY 2000 Prepared June 2, 2000 Troy Subdistrict--Summary Report Provisional streamflow conditions at sites monitored and included in this report in eastern New York were in the excessive range except at Schoharie Creek at Prattsville, Wallkill River at Gardiner, and East Branch Delaware River at Margaretville. Mean flows at these 3 sites were in the normal range. As in April, precipitation was above normal in the Capital Region for May (4.86 in., normal = 3.29 in.) and for the year to date (19.16 in., normal = 13.84 in.). The percent of median flow increased from April to May at all sites included herein and conditions were in the excessive range for the third consecutive month at Hudson River at Hadley and fourth consecutive month at West Branch Delaware River at Walton. About 8 inches of rainfall (more than twice the normal for May) fell in parts of Herkimer County during May (primarily during May 11-14) resulting in localized flooding. The USGS gaging station on West Canada Creek at Kast Bridge recorded its second largest peak discharge in 80 years (19,600 cfs -- maximum = 20,500 cfs in October 1945). The recurrence interval of the peak flow is about 80 years. West Canada Creek drains into the Mohawk River upstream of Little Falls (central New York). The USGS gaging station on the Mohawk River near Little Falls recorded its highest daily mean flow during May (1928 to present) on the 14th (21,400 cfs -- previous = 18,500 cfs on May 3, 1983). The highest 3-consecutive daily mean flows during May (May 13-15) and the highest 7-consecutive daily mean flows during May (May 11-17) were also recorded. Parts of the Erie Canal (Locks 23-26) in central New York) were closed for nearly 2 weeks during May because of high water. Earlier in May, parts west of Lock 7 in Schenectady County were also closed. The entire length of the Erie Canal was reopened as of May 30. Ithaca Subdistrict--Summary Report Provisional streamflow conditions at monitored sites included in this report in western New York were in the normal range at Chemung River at Chemung, Genesee River at Wellsville, and Allegheny River at Salamanca. Streamflow at Tonawanda Creek at Batavia and Oatka Creek at Garbutt increased to the excessive range for the month of May. Precipitation was more than twice than normal for the month of May in Binghamton (6.92 in., normal = 3.25 in.) and Norwich (6.59 in., normal = 3.11 in.). Streamflow at Chenango River near Chenango Forks also increased into the excessive range for the month and the highest monthly mean discharge for the month of May was recorded. Susquehanna River at Conklin remained in the excessive range for the fourth consecutive month and the second-highest monthly mean discharge for the month of May was recorded at this site. Coram Subdistrict--Summary Report Massapequa Creek at Massapequa was discontinued due to lack of funding. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Provisional Data for May 2000# INDEX STREAMFLOW STATIONS (Reference period 1961-90)
~ Site discontinued. ** Excessive. # Note: Flow statistics based on data collected through May 31, 2000. MONTHLY MEAN DISCHARGE FOR INDEX STREAMFLOW STATIONS
Provisional Data for May 2000# MEAN FLOW FOR SELECTED GAGING STATIONS Percent of median Flow for month Station (cfs) (period of record) **01321000 Sacandaga River near Hope 2,540 157 01350000 Schoharie Creek at Prattsville 773 144 01371500 Wallkill River at Gardiner 1,320 135 **01372500 Wappinger Creek near Wappingers Falls 441 158 01413500 E Br Delaware River at Margaretville 459 109 **01420500 Beaver Kill at Cooks Falls 987 145 **01423000 W Br Delaware River at Walton 1,180 196 **01512500 Chenango River near Chenango Forks 6,840 285 01531000 Chemung River at Chemung 4,080 130 03011020 Allegheny River at Salamanca 3,280 99 **04217000 Tonawanda Creek at Batavia 254 153 04221000 Genesee River at Wellsville 454 105 **04230500 Oatka Creek at Garbutt 322 153 **04256000 Independence River at Donnattsburg 523 235 ** Excessive LAKES AND RESERVOIRS Elevation & Storage at End of Month Reservoirs (Storage in million cubic feet) Current Year Last Year Average 01314500 Indian Lake nr Indian Lake, NY 4,564 4,421 4,592 01323500 Great Sacandaga Lake at Conklinville 36,170 33,990 33,430 04295000 Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, NY - Elevation in ft above sea level May 31, 2000 99.91 May 31, 1999 95.93 Average (1939-98) 98.25 Maximum daily 101.55 (1993) Minimum daily 94.91 (1965) New York City reservoir system was at 99.5 percent of capacity on May 31, 2000. Normal for this period is 100 percent of capacity. # Note: Flow statistics based on data collected through May 31, 2000. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Provisional Data for May 2000 INDEX OBSERVATION WELLS The observation-well network generally reflects conditions in water-table sand and gravel aquifers and does not necessarily reflect conditions in confined and bedrock aquifers. Water levels in N1259, N1616, Q1249, Sa-1100, S1806, and S1810 have been affected by changes in ground-water withdrawals or sewering. Departure from Median County Well No. Date Water Level (through 1997) Albany A-636 5/31 8.02 - 0.24 Broome Bm-121 5/17 17.05 + 7.45 Cattaraugus Ct-121 5/23 4.64 + .84 Chautauqua Cu-10 5/24 20.89 - 1.47 Chemung Cm-46 5/17 23.09 + .79 Chenango Cn-12 5/17 6.54 + 2.66 Cortland C-102 5/30 4.37 + .74 Dutchess Du-1009 unavailable Kings *K1194 5/23 9.43 - .32 Madison M-178 unavailable Nassau *N1259 5/15 46.37 - 3.81 Nassau *N1616 5/15 68.80 - 4.78 Oneida Oe-151 unavailable Otsego Og-23 unavailable Queens *Q1249 5/24 24.19 - 6.89 St. Lawrence St-40 5/30 4.88 + .40 Saratoga Sa-1100 6/1 49.82 +28.88 Steuben Sb-472 5/30 7.65 + .34 Suffolk *S1806 5/15 53.95 - 1.93 Suffolk *S1810 5/15 50.64 - .78 Suffolk *S1812 5/23 47.88 + 1.05 Suffolk *S4271 5/18 11.20 + .12 Suffolk *S5517 5/18 42.17 - 1.27 Suffolk *S8833 5/24 16.04 - 1.12 Wyoming Wo-4 5/26 11.83 + .30 * Water level in feet below land-surface datum unless site noted with * which indicates reference to sea level.
