USGS Water-Year Summary 2024

11136800 Cuyama River below Buckhorn Canyon, near Santa Maria, CA

LOCATION - Lat 35°01'19", long 120°13'39" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, in SW 1/4 sec.14, T.11 N., R.32 W., San Luis Obispo County, CA, Hydrologic Unit 18060007, on downstream side of bridge on State Highway 166, 1.5 mi downstream from Buckhorn Canyon, 10 mi upstream from Twitchell Reservoir, and 13 mi northeast of Santa Maria. 

DRAINAGE AREA - 886 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY - WDR CA-71-1: Drainage area. WDR CA-77-1: 1976.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - October 1903 to December 1905 (published as "Santa Maria River near Santa Maria"), October 1959 to current year. Monthly discharge only for October 1903 and July 1904. Yearly estimate for water year 1941 (incomplete), published in WSP 1315-B.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 743.35 ft above NAVD of 1988. Prior to October 1959, nonrecording gage at different site and datum.

REMARKS - No regulation upstream from station. Pumping from wells along stream for irrigation of several thousand acres in Upper Cuyama Valley.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 26,200 ft³/s, Feb. 23, 1998, gage height, 14.76 ft, from rating curve extended above 4,900 ft³/s, on basis of slope-area measurement at gage height 14.76 ft; no flow at times in most years.

WATER-QUALITY RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD -

DISCRETE WATER-QUALITY DATA:
CHEMICAL DATA: Water years 1978 to current year.
SEDIMENT DATA: Water years January 1999 to 2002.

REMARKS - Discrete water quality sample results and supporting metadata are published on NWISweb. Data-Quality Indicator Code of "R" indicates reviewed and approved data. DQI Status of "S" indicates provisional data.