Streamgage at Cassidy Road in Highgate along the Rock River. The Rock River at high flow stage.
As I look at communities across the state that have been impacted by the recent flooding yet again, I really miss the streamgage that used to be on Stevens Brook here in Saint Albans. We live next to Stevens Brook in Saint Albans City, and on our street, flood events affect both our backyards and our basements.
In my previous work at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, I learned about streamgages and how they are used to monitor the flow of water in a stream or river over time. You can see these large metal or shed-like structures in different spots across the state by a local brook, stream, or river. Inside that big box, there are a number of different instruments that capture water flow and discharge in 15-minute intervals. They're managed by the US Geological Service, which makes the data available online to everyone.
They also provide a way for the public to sign up for text or email messages about high-flow events. This is how I monitored the spring flood of 2011, when Stevens Brook came very close to flooding our road and, instead, inundated our backyards and basements. It's also how I knew not to panic when Irene hit because I could compare the stream flows on that fateful day to the day in the spring—they were much lower in our area.
The same year that I had used this resource to track flooding in my community, the USGS announced that several gages across the country would be discontinued in October due to lack of funding. I was shocked, especially after what we saw Irene do to Vermont communities. Funding for the streamgages comes from a combination of both federal and local resources, about a third from USGS and the rest from partners, local watershed organizations, or municipalities.
Now that the Stevens Brook gage has been closed, I rely on looking at the other streamgages in our region to assess flooding potential in my neighborhood. In our region, we have gages on the Rock River in Highgate, the Missisquoi River in East Berkshire and Swanton, the Pike River in Franklin, and Jewett Brook in Saint Albans Town.
I can't help but think that we really should be reversing the trend of closing gages and reinvesting in these devices as a key part of our strategies for flood resiliency in our communities. Gages can be "rescued" when other sources of funding come through. It's important then that we continue to inquire about how the current streamgages are funded in Vermont, and how we can keep those that are active on the landscape and functioning.
For me, this an integral part of how I show that I am truly a "friend" of Northern Lake Champlain. I strive to educate myself on flood resiliency in a number of ways including being aware of the resources like the streamgages that are available to me and my community. I continue to reflect and reassess each time one of these flash flood or high flow events occurs in our state - my ability to learn from each of these events is not only key to my work, but key to caring for the safety of my family and home as we live alongside the Stevens Brook. I've shared the streamgage resources I like to use below so you too can feel empowered.
The Friends of Northern Lake Champlain are here to help you build your wisdom and resiliency around our relationship with our waterways. Coming up next week and throughout the rest of the summer we'll be offering informational sessions about Stream Wise, a basin-wide initiative, to improve the resiliency of streams, brooks, and rivers. We'll be offering free consultations for landowners along waterways, to demonstrate how to improve streamside buffers which provide protection from erosion and a place for water to dissipate. Please check out our calendar of events for all the details and sign up for your free consultation and assessment. The Friends extends their deep concern and well-wishes to all those affected by the flooding in the past couple of weeks. We are commited to continuing to find ways to support all of you in navigating these more frequent flood events for both the safety of our communities and the health Lake Champlain.
Streamgage Resources:
USGS National Water Dashboard - this is where you can see the streamgages in our area and click on each one for a real-time graph of stream flow
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