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Summary of March 2013 Monthly Hydrologic Conditions

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

March 2013

Precipitation was below normal at the Newark and Trenton index stations, and above normal at the Atlantic City index station for the reference period 1981-2010. Newark reported 3.00 inches, which is ­­­­71.77 percent of normal.  Atlantic City reported 4.66 inches, which is 110.69 percent of normal.  Trenton reported 2.59 inches, which is 62.56 percent of normal. Total precipitation over the past 12 months was: 40.42 inches at Newark, which is 5.83 inches below normal; 53.69 inches at Atlantic City, which is 11.94 inches above normal; and 38.45 inches at Trenton, which is 7.99 inches below normal.

Combined storage in the thirteen major water supply reservoirs as of March 31 was 77.991 billion gallons (96.4 percent of capacity), which is higher than the average March contents for the reference period 1961-1990.  The storage was 2.236 billion gallons higher than one month ago and 4.534 billion gallons higher 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 below the long-term monthly-mean for the reference period 1981-2010 at all three index stations. The monthly-mean discharge at South Branch Raritan River near High Bridge was 154 ft³/s, 78.2 percent of the long-term mean.  The monthly-mean discharge of the Great Egg Harbor River at Folsom was 107 ft³/s, 89.9 percent of the long-term mean.  The monthly mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton was 13,940 ft³/s, 73.6 percent of the long-term mean. The observed daily mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton on March 31 was 9,750 ft³/s.

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

Water-quality parameters collected from the Delaware River at Trenton were within the range of historical monthly values. Water temperature ranged from 3.1 to 8.6 degrees Celsius. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 11.4 to 14.8 milligrams per liter. Specific conductance ranged from 134 to 233 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