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Wisconsin River Report July 15, 2004

Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company 2301 North Third Street Wausau, WI  54403 For more information contact Sam Morgan Phone: 715.848.2976, ex 301 Email: morgan@wvic.com

 

Summer Rainfall 40% Below Normal in North

 

Rainfall since the beginning of June is running 40% below normal in the northern Wisconsin River Basin according to Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company (WVIC) of Wausau. Total rainfall for June and the first half of July averaged 3.6 inches in the area from Tomahawk north to the Michigan border. Normal rainfall for the period is slightly over six inches.

The dry conditions caused the natural flow of the Wisconsin River at Merrill to drop below 900 cubic feet per second (cfs) last week. This is the lowest natural river flow reported since last fall at the end of the 2003 summer drought. Water released from the northern reservoir system provided almost half of the regulated river flow at Merrill of 1,735 cfs. Despite the reservoir release, the regulated flow was still 20% below the July normal. Storage in the northern reservoir system fell to 78% of capacity. Water levels in the four large northern reservoirs are now 2-3 feet below the full mark. Unless significant rainfall occurs, water levels in the large reservoirs will continue to fall at the rate of 4-6 inches per week.

In the central and lower basins river flows have remained close to normal because of higher rainfall amounts in those basins. Since the beginning of June rainfall averaged 7.0 inches or 16% above normal in the area between Tomahawk and Wisconsin Rapids. The weekly average river flow of 3,282 cfs at Wisconsin Rapids was almost exactly equal to the July normal of 3,240 cfs. With river flows on the southern portion of the Wisconsin River staying near normal without the need for reservoir water, the Big Eau Pleine reservoir south of Wausau remains close to the full mark.

            Air temperatures were close to normal in the central and northern basins last week, but well below normal in the southern basin. After being below normal throughout spring and early summer, water temperatures in the Wisconsin River rose into the low to mid-70’s. The normal water temperature for this time of the year is 74 degrees.

 

 

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