Annual River Events...

As the waters continue to recede looking forward to two annual trips on the Delaware River.

This weekend the American Canoe Association - Delaware Valley Division (see links list) is holding the Upper Delaware Camp & Paddle including a smashing potluck dinner and two days on the river between Callicoon NY and Lackawaxen PA. This is often a challenging time of year due to the strong headwinds coming out of the southwest.

Then it's the 18th (or 19th?) UN School trip with a hundred or so teens. Three days on the river and two nights camping. Fun fun fun.

Meanwhile the Musconetcong River is running about half the normal flow according to the Bloomsbury gage. Ditto for the Delaware River.

More of the same...

Ditto on my previous post. We received about 1.50 inches of rain in the lower Delaware Basin, but we're still 3.50 inches + below normal for the year so far. The vegetation is looking great but most streams are still at or slightly below normal flow.

Surprise...

A long soaking rain was what the landscape needed but a lot more will have to fall to bring the aquifers back up.

Almost every creek and river in the entire Delaware River Basin continues to run below normal including the Delaware River itself. Check the Musconetcong gage at Bloomsbury and the Delaware River gage at Belvidere. The river is running about 5000 CFS lower for this time of year.

The Tohickon Creek is a rare exception as it's running just higher than normal for this date.

This being April we can reasonably expect more rain to fall in the coming weeks.

A Return to Below Normal...

It was a nice soaker and put a big dent in the water deficit that's been steadily building, but the recent day-long storm left us with at least a 4.00" deficit. That's reflected in the response from creeks and rivers around the Delaware River Basin; most up to be sure, but they fell right back down to below the seasonal median flow.

The Musconetcong River was back up close to normal flow (300 CFS) on Saturday but has since fallen back below 200 CFS. I attended the Musconetcong Watershed Association's open haus for the new River Resource Center on Saturday and reconnected with several comrades from the part of my career known as the Musky Era (1997-2004 RIP). That was seven years of 'all things Musconetcong' 24/7. The RRC is stunning, check it out. (the link goes to their website - it hasn't been updated yet)

The Delaware River came up a little but it is still a bit below the norm for this time of year. The storm did wonders for the flora and it perked up the small streams and vernal pools, but we still have a thirsty bunch of aquifers.

The Delaware Valley Division - American Canoe Association's annual Upper Delaware River Camp & Paddle is coming up first weekend in May. It takes place at Landers Campground in Narrowsburg NY. Free for ACA members - $40 for non-members but that gets you an ACA membership. It's a great campground situated in the prettiest town on the New York side of the upper river valley. My favorite part of the the weekend (besides paddling through Skinners falls and Coolang Rapids) is the potluck dinner under the pavilion.

If you don't like camping there are reasonable places to stay near the campground in Narrowsburg or downriver in Lackawaxen, PA.

Go to the DVD-ACA website for details and registration info.

Intense storm...

Looks like even more rain for our region with an approaching storm from the midwest. The prediction is for 1-2" in the lower Delaware River Basin.

The National Weather Service issued a Flood warning for small streams. Some creeks like the Tohickon Creek are running a little higher than normal, others have fallen back to seasonally normal levels.

Lovely rain...

Save this Date - June 6 River Cleanup!

We received enough rain throughout the region to give the vegetation a deep drink, bring the creeks up a little and put a tiny dent in the large precipitation deficit.

The Musconetcong River at the Bloomsbury gage is now running at the minimum needed to paddle (just over 2.00 ft.). The rain didn't have as much of an impact on this river due to the porous limestone watershed. However, much of what fell on the ground infiltrated into the aquifer and the Musky will stay up longer as a result.

On the other hand, the runoff prone Triassic shale watersheds like the Wickecheoke Creek and Tohickon Creek rose quite a bit more and of course they will fall just as fast because the relatively impermeable soils and rock do not allow precip to infiltrate as easily as the upland limestone watersheds or the sandy coastal soils do. These two beautiful creeks enter the Delaware River just a few miles part, with the Wickey flowing on the NJ side and the Toh on the PA side.

The Delaware River at Riegelsville came up about two feet over the past few days but that is still a little below the median flow for this time of year.

Alternate rainy and sunny days are just what is needed for a glorious spring and drought free summer.

Trickle of rain...

The region has seen one of the driest first three months of the year in 137 years of record keeping. It can turn around with a surge of precipitation in April and May, but if we do continue down this path the cry to keep reservoirs lower will be justifiably seen for what it is: a threat to the vast majority who choose not to live in the Delaware River floodplain and a threat to the river itself.

'Braking' news...

EPA holds up hundreds of Mountaintop Mining Permits.

It's been about three months since Bush was sent home; not bad.

Here's another take on the Obama administration's actions by the Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance.

And these 88 new additions to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System as part of an Omnibus Bill passed by Congress.

Busy week protecting land and water.

Toh Trip...

Photos by Steve Miller

Joined an ad hoc group of 11 solo paddlers for the spring Tohickon Creek release and there were only three kayakers in the mix, which is an unusual ratio these days. It was a classic March day and the river was running just over 3.00 ft' or about twice the pre-release flow.

We didn't encounter any major strainers on the upper section and we only encountered a few other paddlers since the vast majority of the hundreds who paddled the Toh were there for the Class III section between Stover State Park and the Delaware River. We put in just below the Lake Nockamixon dam. This is a really pretty and fairly easy paddling section of the creek through classic Bucks County countryside.

Check out the Tohickon at Pipersville gage to observe the uber-undulating flow curve during the weekend release.

I didn't begin my drought buzz in this blog any too early (been buzzin' boudit' for a month now) as we're well on the way if we experience the below normal precipitation that has been predicted for our region over the next three months. NJ Fish & Wildlife is doing a record number of acres of controlled burning in the Pine Barrens and brush fire alerts are in effect for parts of Southeastern PA.

The DRBC Hydrologic Conditions Report says we're 2.00" below normal precip for the year in the Upper Delaware and 2.73" below normal between the Water Gap and and Trenton. That follows below normal precip for most of the previous fall and summer.

Of course it's also possible I'll be grilling crow for dinner if the Delaware River floods next month. But it's sure not trending that way. Indeed, so far this century we have had at least two mini-droughts that were ultimately broken by major flood events.

None of this bodes well for any of us.

Drought USA...

A great resource for drought information (next to DRBC) is this relatively new website. Delaware River tributary streams continue to be running well below normal for this time of year.

Tomorrow I'll be joining some folks for an early spring run down the Upper Tohickon Creek, thanks to the annual spring whitewater release from Lake Nockamixon. This is a Class I + beautiful Piedmont creek with scenery that alternates between Red Shale cliffs (with ferns and columbine) and pastoral landscapes complete with cows, sheep, and white-tail deer. There are also some wonderful historic structures along the way. The Tohickon features all the best cultural and natural qualities found in Bucks County, PA.

How low can they go?

The last post mentioned how quickly the Delaware River rose last week, and it's still running near normal for this time of year.

Meanwhile most of the tributaries are barely running half the normal flow, which is not a good thing for paddlers and is not a good sign for people who depend on groundwater. Even the Lehigh River is running at late summer flow.

While we could end up having the wettest summer on record, a dry spring is frequently a harbinger of a drought. Time will tell.

Regardless, the Tohickon Creek will be running strong next weekend with hundreds of paddlers converging on Ralph Stover State Park for some of the best whitewater our region has to offer, thanks to the release from Lake Nockamixon.

Delaware River rises...

A spring freshet? The river shot up between six and seven feet depending on the gage in little over one day. A rain storm and break-up of ice with some snow melt put it up and it's coming back down again, gradually.

The water just has that late winter thaw look to it.

Meanwhile the smaller creeks and rivers below the Water Gap are low for this time of year. The Musconetcong River is only 180 CFS and the Tohickon Creek is around 123 CFS. The later will be ripping at around 300 CFS with the whitewater release scheduled for March 21 & 22.