USGS Lake Gage at ECHO -- Real-time Data from the Lake Gage

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View Real-time Data from the USGS Gage at ECHO

WHAT IS MEASURED AT THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN GAGE?

Figure with clickable regions for lake level, temperature, and specific conductance (see text to right if necessary)

The lake gage at the ECHO Center continuously measures the level of the water in the lake. Since December 2004, measurements of water temperature and specific conductance are also being taken. Specific conductance is a measure of how easily electricity travels through the water, which can provide an indication of the dissolved materials in waters near the lake gage.

To see the real-time information collected at the USGS Lake Champlain gage at ECHO recently, click each symbol in the picture, or click the following links:
Lake level | Water temperature | Specific conductance

WHAT ARE THE RECORD HIGH AND LOW WATER LEVELS FOR THE LAKE?

The level of Lake Champlain varies within about 5 feet each year. Water levels are generally the lowest during late summer and early fall when runoff from tributary streams is lowest because of the movement of moisture back to the atmosphere (through evapotranspiration) over the summer. The water levels are usually highest from April to May because of high runoff in tributary streams due to snowmelt and low evapotranspiration.

Is the lake level (gage height) increasing or decreasing this week? Check here.
Why do you think that is happening?

The highest recorded level at the gage in Burlington was 101.86 feet above mean sea level on April 27, 1993. An historical maximum lake level of 102.1 feet above mean sea level was measured on May 4, 1869 at Rousses Point, New York. The mark left by the rising water was measured on a railroad bridge.

The minimum lake level observed in Burlington was 92.6 feet above mean sea level on December 4, 1908.

Click to see a graph of the extreme water levels.

HOW CAN THE MEASUREMENTS BE USED BY SCIENTISTS AND THE COMMUNITY?

Photo of flooded street, 1992, Montpelier, Vt

The lake level information from the gage is used by Federal, State, and local agencies (such as the National Weather Service, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the City of Burlington, and the Lake Champlain Basin Program), engineering firms, researchers, and river recreationists to determine fishing, boating, and swimming conditions, design bridges, issue flood warnings, study climate changes, and understand the water cycle of a watershed.

Water temperature and specific conductance measurements can be used as a general starting point in the evaluation of water quality in the lake. The collection of continuous data of these two measurements at USGS gaging stations are useful in determining changes in lake conditions over time. These measurements, in association with other water chemistry measurements, can be used to provide an overall assessment of water resources.