July Water Monitoring

On July 20th, we collected the tenth round of ground water measurements for the Critical Area Resources Plan. USGS's Ground Water Monitoring website.

Since our June measurements, the water table in our study wells have dropped anywhere from .05 feet to 9 feet. Interesting enough, two of the wells that were overflowing this spring dropped the most 9 feet and 7.5 feet.

Noticed the creeks lately?

After a very wet spring in the watersheds, streamflows continue to receed.  Provisional data from the USGS gage on the Monocacy River at Bridgeport, MD (reproduced below) show the trend from late April to mid July.  The brown triangles are the median flow for each day, calculated with data from the last 60 years.  Except for a spike in early July, flows in the Monocacy have been lower than normal since early to mid June.

Flows are also decreasing in Marsh and Rock creeks, headwaters to the Monocacy River.  The picture below of lower Marsh Creek was taken last Wednesday, July 13th.  It was a calm sight compared to the raging flows several months ago.





Committee Meeting Follow-Up



Andy Zemba displaying the plaque
that was presented to John Hines
for his time as ICPRB commissioner.

Thanks to everyone who attended the July advisory committee meeting!  The meeting minutes are now available online.

If you have not received a copy of the draft water use analysis and would like one, please email marshrockpa@gmail.com or call 301.274.8116.  Comments on the content of the document are welcome.

July 13 Advisory Committee Meeting

The next Critical Area Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 13th from 1-3pm at the Ag Center in Gettysburg. 

Mr. John Hines, Executive Deputy Director of Programs at PA Department of Environmental Protection, will be recognized at the meeting for his efforts as ICPRB commissioner and protector of Pennsylvania’s water resources.  ICPRB will present draft results from the water use analysis conducted for the Marsh and Rock creek watersheds, including analysis by water use sector, water sources, registered uses, estimated uses, and consumptive uses among others.  An overview of the next step in the technical analysis, assessment of water availability, will also be discussed.

Hope to see you there!