USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 04142000

Click to hide Water-Year Summary instructions and information

Water-Year Summary reports summarize a year of hydrologic data in a printer-friendly format.
For water years 2014 onward, choose a water year and parameter and an on-demand Water-Year Summary report will be generated.
For water years 2006 through 2013, choose a water year and an Annual Water Data Report will be provided.
For water years 2005 and earlier, Annual Water Data Reports may be available in digital format.
Not all sites have reports available for every water year.

	Available Parameters
	00010 Temperature, water(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00060 Discharge(Mean)
	00095 Specific cond at 25C(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00300 Dissolved oxygen(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00400 pH(Max.,Min.,Med.)
	63680 Turbidity, Form Neph(Max.,Med.,Min.)

Select a water year

Water year 2023: 2022-10-01 to 2023-09-30

Print this page

USGS Water-Year Summary 2023

04142000 RIFLE RIVER NEAR STERLING, MI

LOCATION - Lat 44°04'21", long 84°01'12" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, in NE 1/4 SW 1/4 sec.05, T.19 N., R.4 E., Arenac County, MI, Hydrologic Unit 04080101, at bridge on Melita Road, 2.8 mi north of Sterling, and 20 mi upstream from mouth.

DRAINAGE AREA - 320 mi². approximately.

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1437: 1937(M), 1939-40(M), 2022(Dissolved Oxygen).

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - November 1905 to December 1908 (gage heights and discharge measurements only), October 1936 to current year. Monthly discharge only for some periods, published in WSP 1307. Published as Rifle River at Michigan Highway 70 near Sterling 1936-61.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder and crest-stage gage. Datum of gage is 648.95 ft above NAVD88, converted on July 9, 2020 from NGVD29. November 1905 to December 1908, nonrecording gage at site 400 ft downstream at different datum. Jan. 13, 1937 to Jan. 10, 1939, nonrecording gage at same site and datum.

REMARKS - Occasional regulation by dams upstream from station.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 7,840 ft³/s, May 19, 2020, gage height, 15.72 ft; minimum discharge, 75 ft³/s, Nov. 22, 1964, result of freezeup.

AVERAGE DISCHARGE FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Does not include water year 1937.

WATER-QUALITY RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - Water years 1966-72, 1974-92, 2011 to current year.

PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD - SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: November 1974 to September 1981, June 2011 to October 2014, April 2015 to current year. pH: June 2011 to October 2014, April 2015 to Nov. 2019. WATER TEMPERATURE: November 1974 to September 1981, June 2011 to October 2014, April 2015 to current year. DISSOLVED OXYGEN: June 2011 to October 2014, April 2015 to current year. TURBIDITY: June 2011 to October 2014, April 2015 to current year. SUSPENDED-SEDIMENT DISCHARGE: April to September 1966, October 1969 to September 1970, January to April 1971, April to September 1972.

INSTRUMENTATION - Water-quality monitor from Aug. 28, 1975 to Sept. 30, 1981. Water-quality monitor and automatic (event-driven) pump sampler June 7, 2011 to Oct. 31, 2014. Water-quality monitor Apr. 1, 2015 to current.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - A pH of 7.2 units was measured Mar. 11, 1980. A dissolved oxygen of 6.5 mg/L was measured Apr. 24, 1990. A suspended-sediment concentration of 647 mg/L was measured Mar. 27, 1967, and a sediment load of 3,270 tons was calculated Mar. 27, 1967.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD - SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: Maximum recorded, 602 microsiemens, Feb. 26, 2022; minimum recorded, 157 microsiemens, Aug. 31, 1975, but may have been lower during instrument malfunction Sept. 1-11, 1975. pH: Maximum recorded, 9.0 units, May 19, 20, 2013; minimum recorded, 7.5 units, Feb. 6, 7, 9-11, 26-28, 2019. WATER TEMPERATURE: Maximum recorded, 30.5°C, July 20, 1977; minimum recorded, -0.2°C, on many days during winter periods. DISSOLVED OXYGEN: Maximum recorded, 15.9 mg/L, Feb. 28, 2012; minimum recorded, 6.0 mg/L, Aug 12, 13, 2021. TURBIDITY: Maximum recorded, 775 FNU, Mar. 20, 2022; minimum recorded, 0.7 FNU, Oct. 26, 2016, Oct. 20, 2020. SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION (water years 1970, 1972): Maximum daily mean, 304 mg/L, Apr. 13, 1972; minimum daily, 0 mg/L on several days in water year 1972. SEDIMENT LOAD (water years 1970, 1972): Maximum daily, 1,760 tons, Apr. 13, 1972; minimum daily, 0 ton on several days in water year 1972.