| News
Release U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey
|
Address 2617 E. Lincolnway, Suite B Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 | ||
| Release
June 3, 2002 |
Contact Kirk Miller Cheryl Miller Myron Brooks |
Phone (307) 778-2931 |
Fax (307) 778-2764 |
USGS: May Streamflows in Wyoming Lower Than Dust Bowl Years
Lower than average flows were seen during May in most creeks and rivers across Wyoming. "Streamflows at several USGS gaging stations set all time lows," noted Kirk Miller, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologist. New record lows were recorded for the month of May in the Wind, Bighorn, Tongue, and North Platte River Basins at stations operated by the USGS.
"This is significant, because streamflow data have been collected at these stations for up to 87 years, which includes the major droughts of the last century." noted Miller, "We have just broken those records."
The hardest hit area in the State appears to be the North Platte River Basin. At 10 USGS stations where streamflows are affected by reservoirs and diversions to canals, flows ranged from 28 to as little as one percent of the long-term average. "New record low streamflows were measured at six stations in the North Platte River Basin," according to Miller.
Even stations where streamflows are generally unaffected by reservoirs and diversions, flows were still low, ranging from 60 to 19 percent of the long-term average.
Information about drought conditions and vital tools for drought managers in Wyoming are available at the click of a mouse. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Wyoming Drought Watch is regularly updated and features daily streamflow conditions, recent photographs, historical streamflow data, drought analyses and other useful information for drought managers. Visit the site at: http://wy.water.usgs.gov/projects/drought/index.htm.
Since
1895, the USGS has collected streamflow data at more than 2,000 sites
throughout Wyoming. About 150 streamflow data collection stations
currently are in operation. Additional information, including current
streamflow conditions in Wyoming, can be found by accessing the Water
Resources of Wyoming on the World Wide Web at:
http://wy.water.usgs.gov/
The USGS serves the nation by
providing reliable scientific information to: describe and understand the
Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage
water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect
our quality of life.
Data in this release are preliminary. Final data will be published in the yearly publication, WATER RESOURCES DATA, WYOMING
NOTES TO EDITOR: (1) ft3/sec is an abbreviation for cubic feet per second which is the rate of discharge representing a volume of a cubic foot of water passing a given point during one second and is equivalent to 7.48 gallons per second or 448.8 gallons per minute.
* * * USGS * * *
This press release and in-depth
information about USGS programs may be found on the USGS home page:
http://www.usgs.gov. To receive the latest USGS news releases
automatically by email, send a request to listproc@listserver.usgs.gov
Specify the listserver(s) of interest from the following names: water-pr:
geologic-hazards-pr; biological-pr; mapping-pr; products-pr; lecture-pr.
In the body of the message write: subscribe (name of listserver) (your
name). Example: subscribe water-pr joe smith.
The URL for this page
is: http://wy.water.usgs.gov/news/html/060302.htm