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Drought?
- Thread starter ss20
- Start date
Ha Ha
My RI house has more vertical than Yawgoo, and is adjacent to the highest point in RI
drjeff
Well-known member
The superintendent of the golf course I belong to in Thompson sent out an email this evening saying that the rain guage at the course had recorded 7.43" in it since Sunday morning, and that with the inflow rate into the big pond (about 25 acres of surface area) on property that we draw our irrigation water from that it will end up coming up about a foot by the time the inflow rates from the feeder streams into it level back off. A LOT of water has fallen over NE CT and Northern RI lately, but it is a narrow band as at my parents condo down just South of the URI campus, my Mom said when I talked with her tonight that she had less than 2" of rain in a bowl that was out on a table on their back deck
drjeff
Well-known member
Only about 2" down in that part of RI out of this one. Just enough to probably put enough water back into the pool at the base of their waterslides that recently closed for the season that they'll probably have to pump more water out of it!
ss20
Well-known member
This is what I'm worried about. Dry for the foreseeable future, too. An inch or two of rain in 48 hours isn't going to do anything to help river flows.
I read about parts of CT,MA, and RI getting 5+ inches of rain. That is crazy!!!!
Most of SoCal is expected to get a bunch of rain from remnants of a hurricane later this week
This is what I'm worried about. Dry for the foreseeable future, too. An inch or two of rain in 48 hours isn't going to do anything to help river flows.
I read about parts of CT,MA, and RI getting 5+ inches of rain. That is crazy!!!!
Most of SoCal is expected to get a bunch of rain from remnants of a hurricane later this week
Yup...here's the MRV flow rates over the past 2 months (along with the median for these dates):
The rain events bump the flow temporarily, but it usually drops back down pretty quickly. Flow rates have mostly been below average the past 2 months.
How is the Sugarbush pond looking?
Yep
I want to say they can't withdraw water when the flow rate of the river is below some median value for some specific mid-winter time point (maybe some February median flow rate?). If that's the case, looks like the median flow rate for most of February is a bit over 100 CFS...so most of the current flow values are well below that point.
Still not unusual for the flow rates to be low the end of the summer. Early fall is what will really matter...so we'll see what happens. Worst case I'm sure it will be flowing nicely and refilled perfectly with our annual Christmas week thaw/rain event!
Haven't personally been up in a while, so not too sure. I can't imagine it looking too good though with how little water there has been most of this summer.
drjeff
Well-known member
Do you know if they take advantage of the Spring run off when the flow rates are likley well above the minum levels and fill the pond up in say April? Sure they;d loose some over the Summer, but just wondering if they keep it low all Summer and then rely on Fall to fill it up?
Not too sure...although they also were replacing the dam this summer between the river and pond, so they may have needed to not have it filled anyway in order to do that work.
Hawk
Well-known member
The pond is actually small and relies on the river to fill it back up on a daily bassis. Spring runoff has very little to do with it.
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
This is why Sugarbush wants and needs to build a reservoir up from the valley so they can pump water for storage when its available. I'm sure easier said than done especially in VT...
Hawk
Well-known member
Win told me last year that the new resi was part of the plan but he did not know when they would pursue it. I guess the location would be in that flat area across from the Sugarbush Inn adjacent to the Club Sugarbush Road. They would pump to it and store during non peak times to same money.
fbrissette
Well-known member
Drought monitor index is a good site to follow droughts.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
I always sweated this time of the year when the Mad River was low. It is very low now, but a few solid soaking rains after the leaves are gone can bring ground water levels up and get the river flowing. The February mean flow level to withdraw was around 44 cfs when I was there. It is supposed to be reviewed every decade or so as I recall. The Pond needs to refill 8-10 times given what is normally used at Lincoln Peak.
Still looking rough elsewhere in the country, but per usual we are getting our autumn rains here in New England. Don't think anyone is too concerned about drought any more here.
Last boat ride of the season was Saturday. Made it through skinny water season prop unscathed.
