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-MARCH 2003

Streamflows were in the normal range for most of Maine except for the St John River basin which was in the below-normal range.

Ground-water levels covered all the ranges with five of the ten index wells in the above-normal range, two in the normal range and three of the ten in the below-normal range.

The total amount of water in usable storage in the five reporting basins at the end of March was 34 percent of capacity, which is below the long-term end-of-March average of 40 percent.

March precipitation, at 16 stations, averaged 104 percent of normal.








STREAMFLOW:

Runoff was in the normal range in March except for the St. John River basin which was in the below-normal range. The following table lists March runoff at seven index gaging stations.

 
MARCH  RUNOFF
 
Inches
% of Median
Normal Range (in inches)
St. John River at Fort Kent 0.22 29 0.47 - 1.57
Narraguagus River at Cherryfield 5.66 155 2.85 - 5.97
Mattawamkeag near Mattawamkeag 1.06 59 1.01 - 2.98
Piscataquis River near Dover-Foxcroft 1.97 68 1.40 - 3.77
Carrabassett River near North Anson 2.44 79 1.48 - 4.90
Little Androscoggin River near South Paris 2.47 70 1.80 - 5.02
Saco River at Cornish 2.68 88 2.07 - 4.14

Link to current streamflow conditions: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/me/nwis/current/?type=flow 

PRECIPITATION:

March precipitation, as reported by the National Weather Service and cooperative observers at 16 stations, averaged 104 percent of normal and ranged from 75 percent to 167 percent of normal at the individual sites. The following table lists March precipitation at twelve selected stations.

MARCH  PRECIPITATION (inches)

Caribou

 2.51   Flagstaff 2.09   Moosehead 2.53   Woodland 5.82
Brassua Dam 2.88   Bingham 3.19   Portland 3.65   Eustis 3.49
Millinocket 4.27   Errol 2.34   Vanceboro 5.27   Madison 3.47

STORAGE:

Total quantity of water in usable storage increased by 1,810 million cubic feet (mcf) and at the end of the month was 56,692 mcf. The following table shows conditions in the five reporting systems at the end of March, 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 56 51 56
West Branch Penobscot River Basin 58,700 18 11 33
Kennebec River Basin 44,730 37 39 39
Androscoggin River Basin 28,100 39 33 34
Sebago Lake 9,700 41 33 53
TOTAL OF FIVE SYSTEMS 168,075 34 29 40
 
* mcf-millions of cubic feet		  

GROUND-WATER:

Ground-water levels were in the below-normal, normal and above-normal ranges.  Water levels in five of the ten wells were in the above-normal range. Water levels in nine of the wells had increased when compared to water levels at the end of March 2002.

SUMMARY OF GROUND-WATER LEVELS MARCH 2003

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) 31  11.48 3.99 4.06 -0.80 1986
Brunswick (CW 26) 31 31.52 -0.58 1.10 0.27 1958
Augusta  (KW 52) 31 3.69 0.79 3.87 0.45 1960
Litchfield #1 (KW 766) 31 48.78 -2.34 2.06 1.39 1976
Litchfield #2 (KW 872A) 31 7.50 1.58 3.86 1.44 1978
Oxford (OW 1214) 31 9.20 -0.73 1.12 0.21 1980
Madison (SMW 61) 31 13.55 -2.30 1.14 0.15 1985
Calais (WW 796) 31 0.23 0.77 2.89 2.57 1980
Hadley Lakes (WW 797) 31 2.65 1.40 2.62 1.18 1985
Sanford (YW 807) 31 20.03 -1.71 0.60 1.96 1981

Link to current ground water conditions:  http://me.water.usgs.gov/gwmap.html 

For the latest snowpack information visit the Maine Cooperative Snow Survey site:  http://www.state.me.us/mema/weather/snow.htm 

for:		 James M. Caldwell
Robert M. Lent
District Chief, Maine
U.S. Geological Survey, WRD
196 Whitten Road
Augusta, Maine 04330


Last modified: Mon Apr 7 11:33:23 EST 2003