Water Conditions in the Florida Panhandle - Last updated June 6, 2005

TOPICS

PRECIPITATION

SURFACE WATER

GROUND WATER

LAKE ELEVATIONS

BACKGROUND

PRECIPITATION

February precipitation varied for the Florida Panhandle, ranging from 0.84 inches at Choctawhatchee River at Caryville to 7.90 inches at Santa Fe River near Hildreth. Three (NWS) stations and 17 USGS stations were used for this summary and are shown on the tables below.

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) SUMMARY (NWS STATIONS) FOR MAY 2005
Station Name	Monthly Total	Departure From Normal
Tallahassee	3.30/span>	-1.65
Apalachicola	2.10	-0.52
Panama City	1.07	-2.79

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) SUMMARY (USGS STATIONS) FOR MAY 2005
Station Number	Station Name	Monthly Total
02319394	Withlacoochee River near Lee	2.06
02319800	Suwannee River at Dowling Park	1.45
02320000	Suwannee River at Luraville	1.93
02320500	Suwannee River at Branford	2.90
02322049	Bad Dog Run near Alachua	6.02
02322800	Santa Fe River nr Hildreth	7.90
02329000	Ochlockonee River near Havana	2.20
02330000	Ochlockonee River near Bloxham	2.41
02358789	Chipola River at Marianna	1.59
02359000	Chipola River nr Altha	1.96
02365200	Choctawhatchee River nr Pittman	1.73
02365500	Choctawhatchee River at Caryville	0.84
02366500	Choctawhatchee River nr Bruce	2.90
02368000	Yellow River at Milligan	3.39
02368326	Caney Creek Tributary No. 2 near Caney Creek Tower near Paxton	1.69
02369000	Shoal River at Crestview	2.50
02370000	Blackwater River nr Baker	4.19

SURFACE WATER

Flow conditions in the Florida Panhandle ranged from below normal to well above normal through the month of May.

Most below normal conditions were reported at New River neat Lake Butler (70% of normal). Most near normal conditions were reported at Apalachicola River at Chattahoochee and near Blountstown (105% and 104% of normal, respectively). Flows most above normal were at the Steinhatchee River near Cross City (402% of normal) and Sopchoppy River near Sopchoppy (331% of normal).

The table below shows the mean flows for May and for May period of record, in cubic feet per second, for 21 representative USGS streamgages across northwest Florida.

Station Number	Station Name	Monthly Flow	Period of Record Monthly Average	% of Avg
02319000	Withlacoochee River near Pinetta	1830	1300	141
02319500	Suwannee River at Ellaville	10500	6020	174
02320500	Suwannee River at Branford	16500	7300	226
02321000	New River near Lake Butler	64.5	91.4	70
02321500	Santa Fe River at Worthington Springs	347	176	197
02322500	Santa Fe River near Fort White	1860	1380	135
02323500	Suwannee River near Wilcox	18600	10800	172, Tidally influenced
02324000	Steinhatchee River near Cross City	498	124	402
02327100	Sopchoppy River near Sopchoppy	210	63.5	331
02329000	Ochlockonee River near Havana	1160	792	146
02330000	Ochlockonee River near Bloxham	1900	1330	143, Regulated
02358000	Apalachicola River at Chattahoochee	22700	21700	105, Regulated
02358700	Apalachicola River near Blountstown	22400	21500	104, Regulated
02359170	Apalachicola River near Sumatra	27500	24000	115, Regulated
02359000	Chipola River near Altha	2070	1340	154
02365500	Choctawhatchee River at Caryville	6020	4780	126
02366500	Choctawhatchee River near Bruce	8450	6280	135
02369000	Shoal River near Crestview	1610	983	164
02370000	Blackwater River near Baker	466	300	155
02370500	Big Coldwater River near Milton	825	489	169
02375500	Escambia River near Century	6640	5740	116

Flow durations for stations in the panhandle can be obtained here.

Surface water data for Florida stations can be obtained at the Statewide Streamflow Data website.

GROUND WATER

Please see the table below for groundwater conditions throughout the month of February.

Station Number	Station Name	Max Elev.	Date	Minimum Elev.	Date
300740084293001	USGS Observation Well near Crawfordville (Benchmark Site)	33.68	May 6-7	32.24	May 30
303025085350501	USGS Observation Well near Wausau (Local Well 422A)	62.28	May 8-9	61.85	May 30-31

More information on groundwater levels in Florida can be obtained at the Statewide Groundwater Data website.

LAKE ELEVATIONS

Lake Talquin's water levels are controlled C. H. Corn Hydroelectric Dam located on the Ochlockonee River. On the table below is a brief summary of water level conditions for the month of February. The Hydroelectric Dam also regulates the flow into the Ochlockonee River near Bloxham.

Station Number	Station Name	Max Mean Elev.	Date	Minimum Mean Elev.	Date	Monthly Mean
02329900	Lake Talquin near Bloxham	68.62	May 22	68.37	May 31	68.49

More information on lakes and reservoirs in Florida can be obtained at the Statewide Lakes and Reservoirs Data website.

BACKGROUND

The United States Geological Survey operates ground-water and surface-water monitoring stations as a cooperative effort with other Federal, State, county and municipal agencies or departments. Several parameters are collected at the gages. These include some or all of the following: (1) stage, (2) velocity, (3) temperature, (4) salinity, (5) conductance and/or (6) precipitation. Data, whether real-time or not, are collected on either: (1) 10, (2) 15, (3) 30 or (4) 60-minute intervals. Real-time data are transmitted by satellite to the United States Geological Survey's Tallahassee Office every three to four hours. During critical events, these data may be transmitted in intervals of 60 minutes or less. These statistics are being updated after each transmission on the Florida USGS web site.