MERRIMACK RIVER BASIN
01078000 SMITH RIVER NEAR BRISTOL, NH
LOCATION.--Lat 43°34'04", long 71°44'54", Merrimack County, Hydrologic Unit 01070001, on right bank, in Hill, 1.5 mi
upstream from mouth, and 1.8 mi southwest of Bristol.
DRAINAGE AREA.--85.8 mi².
PERIOD OF RECORD.--Discharge: May 1918 to current year.
Water-quality records: Water years 1957, 1976-79.
REVISED RECORDS.--WSP 711: Drainage area. WSP 781: 1934. WSP 1231: 1919, 1920-21(M), 1922-31, 1932-33(M), 1941-43.
GAGE.--Water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 449.80 ft above sea level (levels by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
Prior to November 25, 1933, nonrecording gage at site 1.5 mi upstream at different datum.
REMARKS.--Records good except those for estimated daily discharges, which are fair. Prior to 1954, some diurnal
fluctuation caused by small mill upstream; greater fluctuation prior to 1941.
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD.--Maximum stage since at least 1885, that of March 19, 1936.
EXTREMES FOR CURRENT YEAR.--Peak discharges greater than base discharge of 1,150 ft³/s and maximum (*):
Discharge Gage height Discharge Gage height
Date Time (ft³/s) (ft) Date Time (ft³/s) (ft)
Oct. 21 1600 * 3,000 * 8.99 Apr. 19 2130 2,340 7.90
Dec. 3 0830 1,150 5.61
Minimum discharge, 7.6 ft³/s, August 11.
DISCHARGE, CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, WATER YEAR OCTOBER 1996 TO SEPTEMBER 1997
DAILY MEAN VALUES
DAY OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
1 30 129 150 e130 76 332 453 370 122 17 11 53
2 26 112 866 e150 75 261 338 341 159 16 11 43
3 21 101 1090 192 73 274 292 294 121 24 10 37
4 18 92 770 170 71 236 321 316 96 43 10 34
5 17 87 446 167 72 197 439 288 83 42 12 29
6 18 83 289 194 77 190 646 266 74 30 13 24
7 17 85 234 173 75 e160 884 465 67 23 11 22
8 17 107 218 114 71 e140 997 429 61 20 9.4 29
9 55 429 203 e110 70 e130 757 312 56 20 8.9 31
10 83 707 184 e115 69 141 467 287 51 38 8.3 28
11 96 620 166 108 67 132 347 285 49 40 8.1 26
12 78 362 162 98 66 120 314 246 43 29 9.4 58
13 55 235 193 95 64 e110 346 210 45 22 17 57
14 44 178 192 91 63 e98 405 196 43 20 22 39
15 35 147 190 92 66 e105 418 183 38 60 19 33
16 32 141 197 94 64 110 433 196 33 69 16 25
17 30 140 234 96 62 97 507 197 31 54 14 21
18 33 127 406 e85 63 98 833 178 33 76 11 19
19 29 115 458 81 80 90 1930 170 71 57 9.8 17
20 173 120 429 79 137 92 1880 203 79 42 8.8 16
21 2310 115 268 76 145 90 1170 189 57 32 19 16
22 2330 107 227 76 175 e90 879 157 43 28 85 15
23 1150 100 210 85 313 e80 709 140 34 24 62 15
24 632 94 235 81 340 e73 598 126 28 21 37 14
25 354 88 668 79 234 e75 482 121 26 18 25 14
26 233 137 e520 86 180 125 396 117 24 17 20 14
27 180 220 e390 84 201 198 353 106 22 16 19 14
28 154 149 287 81 338 221 499 96 20 15 52 13
29 144 135 240 79 --- 292 649 89 19 14 208 18
30 128 117 334 76 --- e470 502 82 18 13 134 21
31 140 --- e220 75 --- e620 --- 80 --- 12 68 ---
TOTAL 8662 5379 10676 3312 3387 5447 19244 6735 1646 952 968.7 795
MEAN 279 179 344 107 121 176 641 217 54.9 30.7 31.2 26.5
MAX 2330 707 1090 194 340 620 1930 465 159 76 208 58
MIN 17 83 150 75 62 73 292 80 18 12 8.1 13
CFSM 3.26 2.09 4.01 1.25 1.41 2.05 7.48 2.53 .64 .36 .36 .31
IN. 3.76 2.33 4.63 1.44 1.47 2.36 8.34 2.92 .71 .41 .42 .34
STATISTICS OF MONTHLY MEAN DATA FOR WATER YEARS 1918 - 1997, BY WATER YEAR (WY)
MEAN 73.8 131 135 102 98.5 249 486 228 101 53.5 37.3 39.8
MAX 279 379 393 300 578 1242 1077 504 353 387 340 457
(WY) 1997 1928 1974 1996 1981 1936 1969 1954 1922 1973 1990 1938
MIN 8.45 24.9 22.3 19.2 20.6 29.7 134 71.5 20.5 9.00 4.54 7.62
(WY) 1948 1972 1923 1940 1980 1940 1995 1941 1964 1965 1965 1948
SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR 1996 CALENDAR YEAR FOR 1997 WATER YEAR WATER YEARS 1918 - 1997
ANNUAL TOTAL 94674 67203.7
ANNUAL MEAN 259 184 144
HIGHEST ANNUAL MEAN 240 1996
LOWEST ANNUAL MEAN 64.7 1965
HIGHEST DAILY MEAN 2330 Oct 22 2330 Oct 22 6890 Mar 19 1936
LOWEST DAILY MEAN 12 Sep 7 8.1 Aug 11 2.7 Aug 2 1933
ANNUAL SEVEN-DAY MINIMUM 14 Sep 2 9.7 Aug 6 3.2 Sep 20 1939
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK FLOW 3000 Oct 21 a 8100 Mar 19 1936
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK STAGE 8.99 Oct 21 b 16.09 Mar 19 1936
INSTANTANEOUS LOW FLOW 7.6 Aug 11 2.7 Aug 2 1933
ANNUAL RUNOFF (CFSM) 3.01 2.15 1.68
ANNUAL RUNOFF (INCHES) 41.05 29.14 22.87
10 PERCENT EXCEEDS 689 431 350
50 PERCENT EXCEEDS 137 92 67
90 PERCENT EXCEEDS 23 17 17
a From rating curve extended above 2,700 ft³/s on basis of contracted-opening measurement of peak flow.
b From floodmarks.
e Estimated.
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