Hydrology & Sediments
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BACKGROUND
Penobscot River Hydrology
Water flow in the Penobscot River basin varies seasonally, with high flows in early spring and late fall and low flows generally in the summer and early fall. Flows are also regulated by numerous dams and impoundments, which have a combined capacity of about 54 billion ft3 (Stewart et al., 2006).
 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains monitoring stations on the lower Penobscot at Eddington and West Enfield. The 102-year average flow at West Enfield is 11,880 cubic feet per second (ft3/s); the highest flow on record was 153,000 ft3/s in May 1923. The lowest flow on record was 1,630 ft3/s in October 1905 (Stewart et al., 2006).
The Penobscot River drains a watershed of 8,592 square miles, more than one-quarter of the land area in Maine (another estimate is 8,570 square miles, depending on where one draws the line between "river" and "bay"). The watershed includes 249 square miles drained by Chamberlain Lake via the Telos Canal.
Average annual discharge of the Penobscot River near the point of tidal influence is 402 cubic meters per second (Jackson et al., 2005). That's billions of gallons of freshwater flowing into the Gulf of Maine each year.
Average precipitation is 107 cm/year (42 inches), including snowfall. Average runoff is about 59% of precipitation.
Water temperature ranges from 0°C in February to 22°C in July, with an annual mean of 9.3°C (Jackson et al., 2005).
Length and watershed area (Fontaine, 1981) of major tributaries:
| River |
Watershed in square miles |
Length in miles (approximate) |
| East Branch (East Branch Pond to Medway) |
1,120 |
62 |
| West Branch (Penobscot Lake to Medway) |
2,131 |
140 |
| Piscataquis River |
1,453 |
74 |
| Mattawamkeag River |
1,507 |
80 |
| Passadumkeag River |
399 |
44 |
| Sunkhaze Stream |
95 |
24 |
| Kenduskeag Stream |
215 |
36 |
| Souadabscook Stream |
154 |
17 |
| Cove Brook |
11 |
4 |
| North Branch March Stream |
x |
33 |
| South Branch March Stream |
x |
14 |
| Orland (Narramissic) River |
102 |
6 |
| Penobscot River (Medway - Sears Island) |
8,592 |
102 |
References:
Fontaine, R.A. 1981. Drainage areas of surface water bodies of the Penobscot River basin in central Maine. U.S. Geological Survey, Augusta, ME.
Stewart, G. J., J.M. Caldwell, A.R. Cloutier, and L.E. Flight. 2006. Water Resources Data Maine Water Year 2005. WDR-ME-05-1. U.S. Geological Survey, Augusta, ME. CURRENT RESEARCH
Monitoring Stations
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains monitoring stations on the lower Penobscot at Eddington and West Enfield.
Land use, geologic and climatic controls on stream processes in northern New England using airborne laser swath mapping.
This NSF-funded project, led by Noah Snyder of Boston College, will use remote-sensing data, field surveys and mapping, and fluvial models to study stream formation and processes in northern New England. Study sites include the Pleasant/Piscataquis river drainage in the Penobscot basin. A project summary is available (pdf document).
Contact: Noah Snyder
Bathymetry of Penobscot River impoundments.
George Aponte Clarke , Penobscot River Restoration Trust. Under contract to the Trust, Hydroterra conducted bathymetry and sediment surveys of the Veazie, Great Works, and Howland impoundments in 2005.
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