ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASIN
04288000 MAD RIVER NEAR MORETOWN, VT
LOCATION.--Lat 44°16'42", long 72°44'37", Washington County, Hydrologic Unit 02010003, on left bank, at downstream side
of highway bridge, 2.4 mi downstream from Moretown, and 3.8 mi upstream from mouth.
DRAINAGE AREA.--139 mi².
PERIOD OF RECORD.--Discharge records: October 1928 to current year.
Water-quality records: Water years 1954-55, 1957, 1967-74.
REVISED RECORDS.--WSP 744: Drainage area. WSP 854: 1934(M). WSP 1114: 1929, 1930(M), 1936-37.
GAGE.--Water-stage recorder. Concrete control since October 13, 1933. Datum of gage is 543.93 ft above sea level
(levels by Vermont Department of Highway). July 6 to November 4, 1910, nonrecording gage at same site at different
datum. November 20, 1928, to September 27, 1930, nonrecording gage at same site at present datum.
REMARKS.--Records good except those for estimated daily discharges, which are fair. Occasional diurnal fluctuation at
low flow; much greater regulation prior to 1958.
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD.--Maximum discharge since at least 1830, 23,000 ft³/s, November 3, 1927, gage height,
19.4 ft, from floodmarks, by computation of peak flow over dam.
EXTREMES FOR CURRENT YEAR.--Peak discharges greater than base discharge of 3,400 ft³/s and maximum (*):
Discharge Gage height Discharge Gage height
Date Time (ft³/s) (ft) Date Time (ft³/s) (ft)
Oct. 21 -- Unknown Unknown Dec. 2 0745 *a 6,270 9.91
Nov. 9 -- a 5,400 b 8.57 Feb. 22 0345 Ice jam *c 10.67
Minimum discharge, 32 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 64 e180 e320 e320 e140 e560 617 823 388 51 40 127
2 52 e158 3240 e315 e135 e650 478 1230 364 48 37 108
3 59 e147 899 e310 e132 e720 438 746 269 314 105 128
4 61 e142 553 e305 e130 e500 525 907 224 254 65 131
5 50 e135 440 e300 e128 e360 590 582 194 164 77 108
6 45 e130 383 489 e125 e320 1340 869 168 101 69 89
7 43 e130 335 338 e123 e285 1690 1220 148 82 50 89
8 41 e140 327 e260 e120 e265 965 646 134 80 41 86
9 109 e1400 285 e255 e120 e255 583 536 120 442 39 77
10 175 e800 260 e225 e118 e245 489 525 106 295 34 71
11 e205 e460 245 e210 e115 e230 424 520 94 148 65 69
12 e140 e375 236 e205 e115 e220 382 480 87 104 94 100
13 e90 e325 243 e195 e115 e210 427 475 94 87 691 85
14 e75 e275 261 e190 e113 e205 449 428 101 92 502 76
15 e72 e240 268 e180 e111 e200 388 390 81 270 182 75
16 e68 e205 269 e178 e110 e190 395 396 73 201 142 69
17 e66 e195 334 e178 e110 e185 474 403 77 128 114 63
18 e63 e200 668 e175 e118 e180 535 387 97 431 97 73
19 e62 e215 514 e175 e150 e175 640 403 291 239 77 65
20 e62 e217 e390 e170 e550 e170 651 445 140 177 69 61
21 e1700 e205 e330 e165 e645 e168 687 414 113 125 266 74
22 e1150 e185 e300 e162 e1500 e158 664 580 189 103 471 71
23 e600 e175 e275 e195 e1050 e155 627 670 205 86 297 67
24 e400 e165 e700 e170 e580 e155 587 479 121 76 303 78
25 e290 e158 1150 e155 e380 e150 504 435 103 69 180 66
26 e230 e145 e500 e155 e460 e170 498 387 91 64 138 62
27 e205 e138 e400 e150 e630 e230 502 327 78 61 175 67
28 e192 e132 e350 e148 e760 346 862 289 68 62 439 62
29 e175 e127 460 e145 --- 620 743 266 63 61 224 281
30 e170 e124 511 e145 --- 885 602 249 57 49 161 394
31 e185 --- e345 e140 --- 831 --- 282 --- 43 130 ---
TOTAL 6899 7623 15791 6703 8883 9993 18756 16789 4338 4507 5374 2972
MEAN 223 254 509 216 317 322 625 542 145 145 173 99.1
MAX 1700 1400 3240 489 1500 885 1690 1230 388 442 691 394
MIN 41 124 236 140 110 150 382 249 57 43 34 61
CFSM 1.60 1.83 3.66 1.56 2.28 2.32 4.50 3.90 1.04 1.05 1.25 .71
IN. 1.85 2.04 4.23 1.79 2.38 2.67 5.02 4.49 1.16 1.21 1.44 .80
STATISTICS OF MONTHLY MEAN DATA FOR WATER YEARS 1929 - 1997, BY WATER YEAR (WY)
MEAN 180 258 235 188 177 379 799 439 176 100 98.7 102
MAX 675 582 705 592 956 1324 1415 1114 840 337 734 589
(WY) 1978 1984 1974 1996 1981 1936 1969 1940 1947 1996 1976 1938
MIN 22.1 65.5 73.0 35.9 40.8 76.9 258 142 46.2 22.8 22.9 22.5
(WY) 1964 1954 1948 1981 1931 1956 1995 1941 1965 1933 1942 1963
SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR 1996 CALENDAR YEAR FOR 1997 WATER YEAR WATER YEARS 1929 - 1997
ANNUAL TOTAL 140255 108628
ANNUAL MEAN 383 298 261
HIGHEST ANNUAL MEAN 430 1976
LOWEST ANNUAL MEAN 133 1965
HIGHEST DAILY MEAN 3720 Jan 19 3240 Dec 2 6410 Jun 3 1947
LOWEST DAILY MEAN 28 Sep 22 34 Aug 10 2.9 Aug 18 1929
ANNUAL SEVEN-DAY MINIMUM 32 Sep 2 50 Oct 2 4.6 Aug 17 1929
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK FLOW a 6270 Dec 2 a 18400 Sep 22 1938
INSTANTANEOUS PEAK STAGE c 10.67 Feb 22 16.34 Sep 22 1938
INSTANTANEOUS LOW FLOW 32 Aug 11 1.4 Oct 1 1930
ANNUAL RUNOFF (CFSM) 2.76 2.14 1.88
ANNUAL RUNOFF (INCHES) 37.54 29.07 25.49
10 PERCENT EXCEEDS 856 628 590
50 PERCENT EXCEEDS 230 190 135
90 PERCENT EXCEEDS 60 67 38
a From floodmarks, from rating curve extended above 2,700 ft³/s on basis of computations of flow over dam at gage
heights 9.98 ft, 11.51 ft, 16.34 ft, 19.4 ft.
b From peak indicator clip.
c Ice jam.
e Estimated.
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