SUMMARY ARCHIVES

•  Archive of all months
•  Last 12 months
• April 2013
• March 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• July 2012
• June 2012
• May 2012

USGS IN YOUR STATE

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Summary of September 2011 Monthly Hydrologic Conditions

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

September 2011

Precipitation was above normal at the Newark and Trenton index stations, and below normal at the Atlantic City index station. Newark reported 8.13 inches, which is 203 percent of normal. Atlantic City reported 2.95 inches, which is 93.95 percent of normal. Trenton reported 6.94 inches, which is 203 percent of normal. Total precipitation over the past 12 months was: 65.62 inches at Newark, which is 19.37 inches above normal; 47.52 inches at Atlantic City, which is 6.93 inches above normal; and 59.45 inches at Trenton, which is 18.06 inches below normal.

Combined storage in the thirteen major water supply reservoirs as of September 30 was 80.246 billion gallons (99.2 percent of capacity), which is higher than the average September contents for the reference period 1961-1990. The storage was -0.215 billion gallons less than one month ago and 35.363 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, Charlotteburg Reservoir, Echo Lake, Wanaque Reservoir and Spruce Run Reservoir.

Streamflow was above the long-term monthly-mean for the reference period 1971-2000 at all three index stations. The monthly-mean discharge at South Branch Raritan River near High Bridge was 584 ft³/s, 708 percent of the long-term mean. The daily mean flow on September 07 reached a new record high for the month of September.The monthly-mean discharge of the Great Egg Harbor River at Folsom was 179 ft³/s, 319 percent of the long-term mean. The monthly mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton was 50,940 ft³/s, 792 percent of the long-term mean; this is a new record high for the month of September. The observed daily mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton on September 30 was 85,100 ft³/s.

Groundwater levels, as measured in water-table observation wells for the month of September, were above normal at the Readington School 11, Morrell 1, and Vocational School 2 index wells. Levels decreased from last month, and were higher than one year ago.

Water-quality parameters collected from the Delaware River at Trenton were within recorded historical monthly extremes. Water temperature ranged from 15.2 to 21.1 degrees Celsius. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 8.6 to 10.1 milligrams per liter. Specific conductance ranged from 86 to 189 microsiemens per centimeter at 25°C.

Note: The preceding data is preliminary and subject to revision.

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