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Water-Year Summary for Site 12472800

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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
00060 Discharge(Mean)  
00065 Gage height(Mean)  

Water year 2024: 2024-10-01 to 2025-09-30
 
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USGS Water-Year Summary 2024
12472800 COLUMBIA RIVER BELOW PRIEST RAPIDS DAM, WA
LOCATION - Lat 46°37'44", long 119°51'49" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, in SE 1/4 NW 1/4 sec.07, T.13 N., R.24 E., Grant County, WA, Hydrologic Unit 17020016, on left bank 2.6 mi downstream from Priest Rapids Dam, 14.7 mi south of Beverly, and at mile 394.5.
DRAINAGE AREA - 96,000 mi².
REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1933: Drainage area. WDR WA-82-2: 1965(m), 1971(m).
SURFACE-WATER RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - January 1917 to current year. January 1917 to September 1930, at site 3.4 mi downstream, published as "at Vernita." October 1930 to July 27, 1959, at site 46.5 mi upstream, published as "at Trinidad."
GAGE - Water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 393.38 ft above NAVD of 1988 (USGS GNSS, Feb. 1, 2022), and is 390 ft above NGVD of 1929 (topographic map). Prior to Oct. 1, 1930, nonrecording gages at site 3.4 mi downstream at datum 388.7 ft above sea level. Oct. 1, 1930, to July 27, 1959, water-stage recorder at site 46.5 mi upstream at datum 499.3 ft above NGVD of 1929 (river-profile survey).
REMARKS - Diversions for irrigation of about 600,000 acres upstream from station. Flow regulated by 10 major reservoirs and numerous smaller reservoirs and powerplants. U.S. Geological Survey satellite telemeter at station. Water temperatures March 1980 to April 1993. Temperature records for site "at Vernita Bridge, near Priest Rapids Dam" (station 12472900) for period July 1974 to September 1980 are equivalent. 
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Flood of June 7, 1894, reached a discharge of about 740,000 ft³/s, based on a rating extension for a Weather Bureau gage at Wenatchee.
EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 692,600 ft³/s, June 12, 1948, gage height, 59.35 ft, site and datum then in use; minimum discharge, 4,120 ft³/s, Feb. 10, 1932, due to construction at Rock Island Dam, site and datum then in use; minimum daily discharge prior to construction of Rock Island Dam (1932), 22,000 ft³/s, Feb. 1-7, 1930, site and datum then in use; minimum daily discharge after completion of Rock Island Dam (1932), 20,000 ft³/s, Jan. 31 to Feb. 10, 1937, site and datum then in use; minimum discharge since completion of Priest Rapids Dam (1959), 16,300 ft³/s, Nov. 7. 1998, due to emergency flow reduction from Priest Rapids Dam.