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Effect of Hurricane Floyd on current water resources in Maine

The remnants of Hurricane Floyd and other rain in September have ended drought conditions in Maine, in terms of water resources. Streamflow and ground-water levels across the state are above normal or normal. Drought conditions had stretched from the mid-Atlantic states through New England and into Maine in early September. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water conditions by collecting streamflow and ground-water data. The following paragraphs summarize the current levels of streamflow and ground water in the Maine.

Streamflows on free-flowing streams

All flows on free-flowing streams in Maine on October 4th were above their long-term median for this date. In early September all flows in the state were below their long-term median. The long-term median flow is defined as the middle value of a set of flows that are ordered from lowest to highest.

• The streamflows on most free-flowing rivers in Maine on October 4th were above their median flow for this date, but were not extremely high.
• The streamflows on October 4th for the Saco River and the Sheepscot River were within the highest 10 percent of recorded flows for this date. The Sheepscot River at the beginning of September was within the lowest 10 percent of recorded flows.

Current provisional streamflows in Maine are available on the web at http://me.water.usgs.gov

Current provisional streamflows across the Nation are available on the web at http://water.usgs.gov/dwc/national_map.html

Ground water

Ground-water levels across Maine were measured by the USGS from September 23rd to September 28th.

• Ground-water levels in Maine at the end of September were above normal (within the highest 25 percent of recorded data), except in sections of coastal Maine where levels were normal. At the end of August, ground-water levels in western, central, and eastern Maine were below normal (within the lowest 25 percent of recorded data for the end of August).
• Record-high ground-water levels for the end of September were recorded in Acadia National Park, Presque Isle, Stratton, Middle Dam (west of Rangeley), and Oxford. At the end of August, record-low ground-water levels were recorded at many sites in Maine, including Stratton.

For information call:
Robert Lent, U.S. Geological Survey, 207-622-8201 x 102
Bill Libby, Maine Emergency Management Agency, 207-626-4503
Robert Marvinney, Maine Geological Survey, 207-287-2801

As the nation's largest water, earth and biological science and civilian mapping agency the USGS works in cooperation with more than 2000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial, scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. This information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, contribute to sound economic and physical development of the nation's natural resources, and enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources.

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.

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