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Summary of June 2006 Monthly Hydrologic Conditions

Compiled in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Provisional assessment of hydrologic conditions in New Jersey

June 2006

Precipitation was above normal at all three index stations. Newark reported 5.99 inches, which is 176 percent of normal. Atlantic City reported 5.05 inches, which is 190 percent of normal. Trenton reported 8.57 inches, which is 229 percent of normal. Total precipitation over the past 12 months was: 46.98 inches at Newark, which is 0.73 inches above normal; 42.71 inches at Atlantic City, which is 2.12 inches above normal; and 50.71 inches at Trenton, which is 9.32 inches above normal.

Heavy rain fell throughout the Delaware Basin June 23-28 causing the Delaware River to swell beyond its banks, flooding many communities in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania for the third time in 22 months. According to preliminary National Weather Service and U.S. Geological Survey data, as much as 15 inches of rain fell in the upper Delaware Basin in northeastern Pennsylvania during the 6 day period. Rainfall totals in the New Jersey portion of the upper Delaware Basin ranged from 4 to more than 6 inches.

On June 29, the Delaware River at Trenton index gage recorded a peak gage-height of 25.09 feet for a discharge of 237,000 ft³/s. This peak is the 4th highest recorded since 1902; it was 0.24 feet less than the April 2005 flood, and 3.51 feet less than the August 1955 peak of record. The peak discharge is associated with a 60-year recurrence interval based on 103 years of peak-flow data. The mean daily flow of 224,000 ft³/s on June 29 was a new record maximum for the month of June. The observed monthly mean discharge was 30,040 ft³/s, which is 288 percent of normal.

Streamflow was above normal South Branch Raritan River at High Bridge index gage and slightly below normal at Great Egg Harbor River at Folsom index gage. The monthly-mean discharge at South Branch Raritan River near High Bridge was 181 ft³/s, or 147 percent of normal. The Raritan Basin was also affected by the heavy June rains, and the High Bridge gage reached a new record high for June daily discharge at 1,650 ft³/s on June 28. The monthly-mean discharge of the Great Egg Harbor River at Folsom was 72.0 ft³/s, or 98.5 percent of normal.

Combined storage in the thirteen major water supply reservoirs as of June 30 was 77.7 billion gallons (96.6 percent of capacity), which is more than the average June contents for the reference period 1961-1990. The storage was 1.40 billion gallons more than one month ago and 9.41 billion gallons more than one year ago. The thirteen major water supply reservoirs are as follows: Lake Tappan, Woodcliff Lake, Oradell Reservoir, DeForest Lake, Splitrock Reservoir, Boonton Reservoir, Canistear Reservoir, Oak Ridge Reservoir, Clinton Reservoir, Charlottesburg Reservoir, Echo Lake, Wanaque Reservoir and Spruce Run Reservoir.

Groundwater levels, as measured in water-table observation wells for the month of June, were above normal at the Readington School 11 and Morrell 1 index wells, and slightly below normal at the Vocational School 2 index well. Compared to last month, levels increased at the Readington and Vocational School wells, and decreased at the Morrell well. Levels were higher than one year ago at the Readington and Morrell wells, and were lower than one year ago at the Vocational School well.

Water quality parameters collected from the Delaware River at Trenton were within recorded historical monthly extremes, except for specific conductance which reached a new June low due to the high water event on June 29. Water temperature ranged from 18.2 to 27.4 degrees Celsius. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 6.7 to 9.9 milligrams per liter. Specific conductance ranged from 69 to 199 microsiemens per centimeter at 25°C.

All of the files listed below are in Portable Document Format (PDF) which can be viewed/printed with the Adobe Acrobat® Reader, freely available for most computer platforms.

• Combined Storage in the 13 Major Water Supply Reservoirs
• Monthly precipitation at three selected sites
• Groundwater levels in selected Water-table observation wells
• Streamflow at selected sites
• Water quality for the Delaware River at Trenton