USGS Water-Year Summary 2023

04285500 NORTH BRANCH WINOOSKI RIVER AT WRIGHTSVILLE, VT

LOCATION - Lat 44°17'58", long 72°34'45" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, Washington County, VT, Hydrologic Unit 04150403, on right bank, 0.8 mi south of Wrightsville Dam Road and State Highway 12 intersection in Wrightsville, 0.9 mi downstream from Wrightsville Detention Reservoir, 2.6 mi north of the Vermont State Capitol Building in Montpelier, and 3.5 mi upstream from mouth.

DRAINAGE AREA - 69.2 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1237: 1934-39.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - Discharge records: October 1933 to current year.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder and concrete control. Datum of gage is 549.04 ft above North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Prior to November 21, 1934, nonrecording gage at same site, datum then in use. Prior to April 24, 2001, at datum 1.00 ft higher.

COOPERATION - Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and USGS Cooperative Water Program.

REMARKS - WATER YEARS 2014-23: Records good except those for estimated discharges, which are poor. Discharge affected since 1935 by Wrightsville Detention Reservoir (Reservoirs in Winooski River Basin above Montpelier). Flow regulated by power plant at Wrightsville Detention Reservoir since September 1985. Occasional diurnal fluctuation at low flow caused by small mill upstream; more frequent diurnal fluctuation prior to 1968. Maximum discharge since construction of Wrightsville Detention Reservoir in 1935, 1,120 ft³/s, April 11, 2011.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge since at least 1830, 17,200 ft³/s, November 3, 1927, by computation of peak flow over dam 0.8 mi upstream.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 2,170 ft³/s, April 12, 1934, gage height 7.53 ft, from rating curve extended above 1,100 ft³/s.