Stage and Flow

Ok, how do I interpret the “Stage and Flow” information on this site? I see a bunch of numbers but nothing that would help me figure out what it all means. Thanks again!!

The elevation is the water level above sea level. Often the last digit and fraction is what is listed. For example the gauge at Wabasha read 668.0′ yesterday but it may be seen as 8.0′. The flow is measured at the dam at the bottom end of the pool and is read in cubic feet per second (CFS).

Your right, the numbers but themselves are meaningless. What you need is a history of what is happening in time (trends). I have tracked the elevation and flow at lock and dam 4 for the last 4 years. Plus, I have noted significant events and trends in fishing patterns. From the spreadsheet I know have “normals” for elevation and flow for different times of the year. My records for the Wabasha gauge has normal summer pool at 7.7+/-0.2′ and the flow somewhere between 22,000 and 27,000 CFS. The flow today is 31500 and the elevation is around 8.0 so both are approaching normal.

One can get a brief history of trends by going to [url=http://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/, select a dam, than select a plot, not a graph. It will list the values for the last 7 days. You will see a downward trend in elevation and flow. Hope that helps you understand the data.

Stage is actually the level of water with respect to a “Gage Zero” it is not the last digit of the elevation of the water. The “Gage Zero” may not be an actual elevation though generally “Stage” + “Gage Zero” = “Elevation”

http://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/org/District/MVP_TABF.html#WABM5

Bogsucker,

Interesting, I see a date of 1912 so I assume that was befor the lock and dams. I have the URL messed up if someone wants it, http://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/

Thanks a lot for the reply. I was trying to find out if the water was high, normal or low and those numbers were intimadating to me. I am going on a boat trip Saturday with the family and didn’t want to go if the current was super strong with trees, boat houses and barbecue grills coming down river.

riverfan,

I’m not familiar with the history of the individual gage zero’s. It would be nice to see more of that type of info on the usace website though. I believe the Lock and Dam’s on the Upper Miss. were constructed in the 1930s so some of the gage zero’s may have been an average or low water level.