USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 03034000

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	Available Parameters
	00010 Temperature, water(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00060 Discharge(Mean)
	00095 Specific cond at 25C(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00300 Dissolved oxygen(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00400 pH(Max.,Min.,Med.)

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Water year 2023: 2022-10-01 to 2023-09-30

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USGS Water-Year Summary 2023

03034000 MAHONING CREEK AT PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA

LOCATION - Lat 40°56'21", long 79°00'31" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, Jefferson County, PA, Hydrologic Unit 05010006, on right bank 75 ft downstream from Williams Run, 1.8 mi upstream from bridge on Diamond Road at Sportsburg, 1.9 mi downstream from Sawmill Run, and 2 mi west of Punxsutawney.

DRAINAGE AREA - 158 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY -

WDR PA-87-3: 1977-86 (P).

Revisions: Specific conductance records for Apr. 20, 2019, were revised on Feb. 28, 2020, the record was erroneous and removed.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - October 1938 to current year.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 1,205.5 ft above North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Prior to Oct 1, 1946, at site 2.9 mi upstream at datum 13.30 ft higher. Prior to November 2, 2023, the datum of gage was reported as 1,206.14 ft above National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. Satellite telemetry at station.

COOPERATION - Station established and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. Funding for the operation of this station is provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and U.S. Geological Survey.

REMARKS -

Diurnal fluctuations at low flow may be caused by mine pump-age into stream upstream of station. Records are considered good except those for estimated discharges, which are poor.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Flood of Mar 18, 1936 reached a stage of 15.6 ft, from floodmark at former site and datum, discharge, 12,500 ft³/s, from rating curve extended above 5,500 ft³/s.

WATER-QUALITY RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - April 2002 to current year.

PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD - SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: December 2010 to current year. pH: June 2011 to current year (seasonal operation, May to October). WATER TEMPERATURE: December 2010 to current year. DISSOLVED OXYGEN: June 2011 to current year (seasonal operation, May to October).

COOPERATION - Water-quality samples were collected as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Water-Quality Network (WQN) with cooperation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

INSTRUMENTATION - Continuous water-quality monitor interfaced with a data collection platform with 15-minute recording interval.

REMARKS -

As of October 2013, results from discrete water quality samples collected at this site are available through the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System web interface on the "Water Quality for the Nation" webpage. Analyses for pH, water temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen were performed on site. All other sample analyses were performed at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection laboratory in Harrisburg, PA. Occasionally, values for filtered parameters may exceed values for the corresponding unfiltered parameter. These results are within the limits of analytical precision and methods. Data collection for pH and dissolved oxygen is suspended November through March. Other interruptions in the records were due to equipment malfunctions.

Historically, water temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius were not reported. Water temperature sensors now have the ability to accurately read water temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius.

Cross-sectional water quality data is available upon request.

For water year 2014, records for water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen are rated good. Records for specific conductance are rated good, except for May 23 to June 7, which are rated fair, and June 8 to July 22, which are rated poor.

For water year 2015, records for water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH are rated fair. Values measures by the monitor may not be representative of the entire stream width.

For water year 2016. records for water temperature and dissolved oxygen are rated good. Records for specific conductance are rated good, except for April 12-27, which are fair. Records for pH are rated good, except for September 9-12, which are fair, and March 8-18, which are poor.

For water year 2017, records for water temperature are rated good. Records for specific conductance are rated good, except for October 4 to March 29, which are fair. Records for pH are rated good. Records for dissolved oxygen are rated good, except for October 4-25, which are fair.

For water year 2018, records for water temperature are rated good. Records for specific conductance are rated good, except for October 7-10 and December 19 to January 30, which are fair, and January 31 to February 10, which are poor. Record for pH is rated good, except for August 3 to October 3, which is fair. Records for dissolved oxygen are rated good, except for September 25 and 26, which are poor.

Beginning in water year 2019, water quality records are not rated as "excellent", "good", "fair", or "poor".

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD - SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: Maximum, 969 microsiemens/cm, February 2, 2015; minimum, 87 microsiemens/cm, February 16, 2018. WATER TEMPERATURE: Maximum, 30.5°C, July 22, 2011; minimum, -0.2°C, December 17, 19, 2010.