Streamflow in the French Broad
River at Asheville has reached the lowest level since 1895 when the U.S.
Geological Survey first began making measurements at the site. On Sunday,
the streamflow was about 121 million gallons per day (Mgd), or 188 cubic
feet per second.
Previously, the lowest flow at
the site occurred in 2002 when the flow was 139 Mgd.
Before 2002, streamflow in the
French Broad River at Asheville had not been below 155 Mgd since 1925.
Last year, when much of North Carolina
was in exceptional drought, the lowest flow in the French Broad was 199
Mgd.
Most of southwest North Carolina
(18 counties) remains in an exceptional drought and virtually all of western
North Carolina is in extreme (15 counties) or severe (8 counties) drought
as the state moves into the driest time of the year. (See http://www.ncdrought.org
for the latest North Carolina drought conditions.)
Monthly average streamflows were
at all-time record lows for the months of June and July at more than half
of the USGS long-term streamflow gages in western North Carolina. For
example, in the French Broad River at Asheville, the July 2008 flow was
20 percent lower than the previous lowest July average flow in 1986.
Minimum record streamflows also
are being recorded in the Yadkin, Catawba, and Broad River basins of North
Carolina. With a few exceptions, streamflows throughout much of the
rest of the State remain at about half, or less, of normal conditions for
this time of year
Ground-water levels in western
North Carolina are about 2 - 5 feet below normal for this time of year,
although no record minimum levels have been recorded. The number of ground-water
monitoring wells across the state is relatively small, and records only
extend back about 30 years at a few sites.
