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Water-Year Summary for Site 01480870

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  • Water-Year Summary reports summarize a year of hydrologic data in a printer-friendly format.
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Available Parameters
00010 Temperature, water(Max.,Min.,Mean)  
00045 Precipitation(Sum)  
00060 Discharge(Mean)  
00095 Specific cond at 25C(Max.,Min.,Mean)  
00300 Dissolved oxygen(Max.,Min.,Mean)  
00400 pH(Max.,Min.,Med.)  
63680 Turbidity, Form Neph(Mean,Min.,Max.)  
80155 Suspnd sedmnt disch(Sum)  
80297 SS load, regres ss(Mean)  
99409 Susp sediment,wu,est(Mean)  

Water year 2022: 2021-10-01 to 2022-09-30
 
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USGS Water-Year Summary 2022
01480870 EAST BRANCH BRANDYWINE CREEK BELOW DOWNINGTOWN, PA
LOCATION - Lat 39°58'07", long 75°40'25" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, Chester County, PA, Hydrologic Unit 02040205, on left bank at downstream side of Sugars Bridge (U.S. Highway 322), 2,000 ft upstream from Valley Creek, 1.5 mi north of Marshallton, and 3.3 mi southeast of Downingtown.
DRAINAGE AREA - 89.9 mi².
REVISIONS HISTORY - WDR PA-75-1: 1972(P), 1973, 1974.
SURFACE-WATER RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - February 1972 to current year.
GAGE - Water-stage recorder and crest-stage gage. Datum of gage is 195 ft above National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, from topographic map. Feb 1 to Apr 10, and Jun 25 to Nov 17, 1972, nonrecording gage at same site and datum. Satellite and landline 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 Chester County Water Resources Authority and the U.S. Geological Survey.
REMARKS - Flow regulated since November 1973 by Marsh Creek Reservoir (station 01480684) about 7.5 mi upstream. Records for water year 2014 are good with the exception of those for April 30 to May 15 and those for estimated daily discharges which are poor. Records for water year 2015 are good with the exception of those for estimated daily discharges which are poor. Records for water years 2016 and 2019 are fair.  Records for water years 2017-2018 and 2020 are fair except for estimated discharge, which is poor.
CLIMATOLOGICAL RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - October 2005 to current year.
INSTRUMENTATION - Precipitation gage interfaced with data collection platform.
REMARKS - Precipitation records for water year 2014 are fair. Precipitation records for water year 2015 are fair. Precipitation records for water year 2016 are fair. Precipitation records for water year 2017 are fair. Precipitation records for water year 2018 are fair except those estimated values, which are poor. Precipitation records for water year 2019 are fair except for those estimated values, which are poor. Since water year 2019, precipitation records are no longer rated.
ECOLOGICAL RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - October 1998 to current year.
REMARKS - Results of benthic surveys can be obtained by contacting the U.S. Geological Survey Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Exton Field Office.
WATER-QUALITY RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - October 1965 to September 1966, October 1970 to current year.
PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD - SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: February 1972 to current year. pH: February 1972 to current year. WATER TEMPERATURE: February 1972 to current year. DISSOLVED OXYGEN: February 1972 to current year. TURBIDITY: October 2005 to current year. SUSPENDED- SEDIMENT DISCHARGE: October 2007 to current year.
COOPERATION - Station established and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority.
INSTRUMENTATION - Water-quality monitor since February 1972.
REMARKS - The reporting precision of the turbidity probe in low turbidity water is +/- 0.3 FNU, therefore the lowest reportable value, 0 FNU, does not necessarily indicate a condition of zero turbidity. Since the 2000 water year, pH daily median values are computed instead of pH daily mean values. Data collection discontinued during winter months since 1981 water year. Other interruptions in the record were due to malfunctions of the equipment. Samples were collected as part of the Chester County Biological Monitoring project. Some samples were collected as part of the Delaware River National Water-Quality Assessment program (DELR NAWQA). Suspended- sediment discharge was computed using methods described in Sloto, R.A., and Olson, L.E., "Estimated suspended-sediment loads and yields in the French and Brandywine Creek Basins, Chester County, Pennsylvania, water years 2008-09: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5109. The equation for computing suspended-sediment concentration was "log(SSC)=1.0115 log(Turbidity)+0.2596" Suspended Sediment Discharge mistakenly published with wording "Mean" rather than "Total" tons/day for water years 2008 to 2013. The numbers represented in the tables are correct. 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. Explanations of sample characteristics are available from the USGS NWISWeb Help System pages: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/help Water quality records for water year 2014 for Specific conductance, water temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen are good Oct. 1 to June 26 and Fair June 27 to Sept 30, with exception of pH during June 27 to July 30 which is poor. Turbidity records rated fair. Water quality records for water year 2015 for Specific conductance rated Good Feb 25 - June 26 and June 27-Sept 30 and Fair Oct 1-Dec 2, water temperature rated Good Feb 25 - Sept 30 and Fair Oct 1 - Dec 3, pH rated Fair, and dissolved oxygen rated Good Feb 25 - Sept 30 and Fair Oct 1 - Dec 3. Turbidity records rated fair. Water quality records for water year 2016 for Specific conductance rated good with exception of Oct. 1 - Dec. 2 which is fair and Mar. 28 - Apr 4 and Jul 8-12 which are rated poor, water temperature rated good with exception of Oct 1 to Dec. 2 which is fair, pH rated good May 20 to Sept 30 and fair Oct. 1 - Dec. 2 and Mar. 1 - May 19, and dissolved oxygen rated good Feb 29 - Sept 30 and Fair Oct 1 - Dec 2. Turbidity records rated fair. Water quality records for water year 2017 for Specific conductance, water temperature, pH, and DO rated good.  Turbidity records rated fair. Water quality records for water year 2018 for Specific conductance, water temperature, pH, DO, and Turbidity rated fair. 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, 956 microsiemens per centimeter, Mar 2, 2019; minimum, 66 microsiemens per centimeter, Aug 28, 2011. pH: Maximum, 9.9, May 13, Jun 5, 1973; minimum, 5.4, Oct 24, 26, 1973. WATER TEMPERATURE: Maximum, 33.0°C, Jul 18, 1977; minimum, -0.1°C, many days during winters. DISSOLVED OXYGEN: Maximum, 19.4 mg/L, Mar 18, 1989; minimum, 0.8 mg/L, Jul 23, 1984. TURBIDITY: Maximum, 1,200 FNU, Nov 3, 2018; minimum, 0.0 FNU, many days.