CURRENT WATER RESOURCES CONDITIONS IN MAINE
U.S. Department of the Interior Seal

WATER RESOURCES DIVISION, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IN COOPERATION WITH THE STATE OF MAINE


PROVISIONAL DATA: All data presented in this report are provisional and subject to revision.
 Maine State Seal

Surface-water Runoff mapGround-water Level map

SUMMARY--APRIL 2001

Streamflows were in the normal range, except in portions of northeastern Maine where streamflows were in the below-normal range and in portions of southwestern Maine where streamflows were in the above-normal range.  April precipitation at 19 sites averaged 27 percent of normal.

Ground-water levels were in the normal range, except in portions of central Maine where levels were in the below-normal range and portions of eastern Maine where levels were in the above-normal range.

The total amount of water in usable storage in the five reporting basins at the end of April was 59 percent of capacity, which is below the long-term end-of-April average of 72 percent.







STREAMFLOW:

Runoff was in the normal range, except in portions of northeastern Maine where runoff was in the below-normal range and in portions of southwestern Maine where runoff was in the above-normal range. The following table lists April runoff at the index gaging stations.

 
APRIL  RUNOFF
 
Inches
% of Median
Normal Range (in inches)
St. John River at Fort Kent 4.73 109 2.92 - 7.14
Narraguagus River at Cherryfield 5.55 91 4.86 - 7.64
Mattawamkeag near Mattawamkeag 5.38 82 5.41 - 7.69
Piscataquis River near Dover-Foxcroft 7.00 84 5.96 - 9.12
Carrabassett River near North Anson 6.63 91 5.64 - 8.69
Little Androscoggin River near South Paris 8.59 124 5.81 - 8.15
Saco River at Cornish 6.06 105 5.21 - 6.88

PRECIPITATION:

April precipitation, as reported by the National Weather Service and cooperative observers at 19 stations, averaged 27 percent of normal and ranged from 0 percent to 114 percent of normal at the individual sites. The following table lists April precipitation at twelve selected stations.

APRIL PRECIPITATION (inches)
Caribou 2.79   Flagstaff 0.56   Lewiston 1.15   Moosehead 0.36
Brassua Dam 0.42   Bingham 0.63   Portland 1.26   Rumford 1.05
Millinocket 0.60   Errol, NH 0.94   Vanceboro 0.65   Woodland 0.84

STORAGE:

Total quantity of water in usable storage increased by 55,823 million cubic feet (mcf) and at the end of the month was 101,173 mcf. The following table shows conditions in the five reporting systems at the end of April, as reported by the river basin managers, expressed in percent of reservoir capacity.

Reservoir System
Reservoir
Capacity
(mcf)*
This
Month
(% Full)
This Month
Last Year
(% Full)
Long-term
Average
(% Full)
St. Croix River Basin 26,845 72 94 80
West Branch Penobscot River Basin 58,700 51 94 63
Kennebec River Basin 44,730 65 96 78
Androscoggin River Basin 28,100 59 92 69
Sebago Lake 9,700 69 97 81
TOTAL OF FIVE SYSTEMS 168,075 60 94 72
 
* mcf-millions of cubic feet		        

GROUND-WATER:

Ground-water levels were in the normal range, except in portions of central Maine where levels were in the below-normal range and portions of eastern Maine where levels were in the above-normal range. Eight wells showed water-level increases during the month. Water levels in six wells had decreased when compared to water levels at the end of April 2000.

SUMMARY OF GROUND-WATER LEVELS APRIL 2001

Day of
Measurement
Water level
below land-
surface
datum (feet)
Departure
from month-
end median
(feet)
Net Change
during
month (feet)
Net change
during
previous 12
months (feet)
Year
Record
Began
Presque Isle #2 (ARW 906) 26 9.75 1.61 5.78 4.34 1986
Brunswick (CW 26) 26 29.59 0.82 1.10 -0.56 1958
Augusta #1 (KW 52) 26 4.62 0.08 -0.57 0.40 1960
Litchfield #1 (KW 766) 26 45.39 0.16 3.86 -1.29 1976
Litchfield #2 (KW 872A) 26 8.93 0.60 -0.34 1.29 1978
Middle Dam #2 (OW 400A) 22 2.2 0.0 7.3 -0.5 1989
Oxford (OW 1214) 26 7.16 0.08 2.54 -0.15 1980
Madison (SMW 61) 28 10.91 -1.08 2.27 -3.02 1985
Calais (WW 796) 20 0.12 0.30 3.25 0.31 1980
Hadley Lakes (WW 797) 27 3.68 0.12 NA -0.39 1985
Sanford (YW 807) 26 16.89 0.42 3.54 0.29 1981






for:		 Sarah E. Giffen
Robert M. Lent
District Chief, Maine
U.S. Geological Survey, WRD
26 Ganneston Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330



Last modified: Mon Jun 4 13:34:17 EST 2001