SUMMARY ARCHIVES

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

USGS IN YOUR STATE

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Summary of October 2011 Monthly Hydrologic Conditions

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

October 2011

Precipitation was above normal at the Newark index station for the reference period 1981-2010, and below normal at the Atlantic City and Trenton index stations. Newark reported 5.80 inches, which is 161 percent of normal. Atlantic City reported 3.00 inches, which is 88 percent of normal. Trenton reported 3.03 inches, which is 72 percent of normal. Total precipitation over the past 12 months was: 67.58 inches at Newark, which is 21.33 inches above normal; 46.15 inches at Atlantic City, which is 4.40 inches above normal; and 57.29 inches at Trenton, which is 10.85 inches above normal.

Combined storage in the thirteen major water supply reservoirs as of October 31 was 78.597 billion gallons (97.2 percent of capacity), which is higher than the average October contents for the reference period 1961-1990. The storage was -1.649 billion gallons less than one month ago and 24.615 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 1981-2010 at all three index stations. The monthly-mean discharge at South Branch Raritan River near High Bridge was 225 ft³/s, 257 percent of the long-term mean. The monthly-mean discharge of the Great Egg Harbor River at Folsom was 101 ft³/s, 169 percent of the long-term mean. The monthly mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton was 25,680 ft³/s, 303 percent of the long-term mean. The observed daily mean discharge of the Delaware River at Trenton on October 31 was 20,000 ft³/s.

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

Water-quality parameters collected from the Delaware River at Trenton were within recorded historical monthly extremes. Water temperature ranged from 7.1 to 17.4 degrees Celsius. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 9.0 to 12.8 milligrams per liter. Specific conductance ranged from 94 to 194 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