USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 12452500

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Water year 2024: 2024-10-01 to 2025-09-30

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USGS Water-Year Summary 2024

12452500 CHELAN RIVER AT CHELAN, WA

LOCATION - Lat 47°50'05", long 120°00'43" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, in SE 1/4 NE 1/4 sec.30, T.27 N., R.23 E., Chelan County, WA, Hydrologic Unit 17020009, on right bank downstream from control dam at outlet of Lake Chelan, 0.4 mi south of Chelan, and at mile 4.1.

DRAINAGE AREA - 924 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 482: 1904-13. WSP 612: 1924. WSP 1246: 1951. WSP 1286: 1952. WSP 1933: Drainage area. See also PERIOD OF RECORD.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - November 1903 to current year. Published as "below Chelan Lake" 1904-05. Adjusted records for October 1903 to September 1911, published in WSP 482, 492, and 870 are unreliable and should not be used.

GAGE -

Water-stage recorder and watt-hour meters on each turbine. Datum of gage is 1,074.66 ft above Mean Sea Level Datum of 1912, and 1,048.663 ft above North American Vertical Datum of 1988. See WSP 1933 for history of changes prior to Mar. 20, 1939. Mar. 20, 1939, to Sept. 30, 1981, gage at site 1.7 mi downstream from the Lake Chelan gage, at same datum, and published as the gage of record, used to determine head and spill discharge.

COOPERATION - Records partially furnished by Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County.

REMARKS - Daily discharge determined from flow through turbines computed from relation between loading and head, plus flow through two irrigation pipes which divert water from the penstock just above the turbines, plus spill discharge. Construction and installation of a new low level outlet spill diversion pipe at Chelan Falls dam occured during the period of Sept. 15 - 28, 2009. As per license aggreement, Chelan County PUD will now be required to divert a constant 80 cfs spill from Chelan Falls Dam for the entire year, which began Oct. 14, 2009. Unmeasured water that is diverted for irrigation upstream from station is a small percentage of total runoff. Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County diverts water at Chelan to develop about 40,000 kW and to irrigate 900 acres near Chelan. This quantity is included in records of daily discharge. Diversions for irrigation of about 6,280 acres with an annual depletion of about 11,000 acre-ft, 1946 estimate. Flow regulated by Lake Chelan (station 12452000).

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum daily discharge, 18,400 ft³/s, June 3, 1968; no flow part of day, Jan. 30, 1917, when lake outlet was blocked with ice, and at other times owing to artificial regulation.