March 2001 - USGS Monitors Flooding 
in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

The first days of spring brought a storm of activity to the USGS offices in Northborough, Mass. and Providence, R.I. Recent rains have U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and technicians busily measuring high flows in rivers throughout eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

On Thursday, March 22, discharge on the Blackstone River at Northbridge totalled 2,840 cfs, almost ten times the long-term average flow. Total flow on the Pawtuxet River at Cranston, RI, was measured at 2,850 cfs, more than eight times the long-term average flow.

On Friday, March 23, flows on the Aberjona River at Winchester reached 1,130 cubic feet per second (cfs), almost 1,100 cfs higher than the average discharge. Flows on the Parker River at Byfield ran as high as 642 cfs, 604 cfs higher than the average discharge. Both flows reached the 50-year recurrence interval, meaning that in any given year, flows have a one in fifty chance of being equaled or exceeded.

Real-time streamflow data for 84 sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are available on the World Wide Web at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ma/nwis/current/?type=flow. All data are subject to revision and considered provisional until reviewed and published.

• News Release - the full version of the Flood News Release in the Portable Document Format (PDF)

• Graphs showing the March 22-24, 2001 flood compared to the October 1996 flood

• Flood statistics showing the latest records of discharge

• 2 pages of photos showing high flows and the USGS personnel making measurement

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