![]() ![]() During the same period 5 stream gages and 10 rain gages, as well as connections to 1 Passaic Flood Warning System (PFWS) and 5 NWS streamflow gages, were added to the network. In early 1990, the USGS replaced the telephone telemetry of the first network with radio links between the gaging stations and the base-station computer. Locations of Somerset County Flood Information System gages in Somerset County, N.J., and vicinity. From this estimate, stream discharge at a given location can be predicted and converted to an estimate of stream stage.įigure 1. Together with the NWS's Doppler radar, allows the amount and distribution of precipitation to be accurately estimated. Precipitation gages distributed throughout the drainage basin are used to measure and record the amount of precipitation that falls during a given storm. The rating curve also allows stream stage to be determined from an estimate of stream discharge. The rating curves are developed by USGS personnel who visit the gaging station periodically to measure discharge manually under a variety of flow conditions. Because stream discharge, or the volume that flows past a point on the stream during a specific time interval, is difficult to measure accurately and continuously, discharge is commonly estimated from preestablished stage-discharge relations, or rating curves. Streamflow is measured at a steamflow-gaging station, where automated equipment is used to continuously monitor and record water levels. Information needed for flood forecasting includes stream stage (the height of the water level in the stream above an arbitrary datum) and the amount and distribution of precipitation. The gages were installed throughout the county to collect rainfall and runoff data that could be used to improve flood-monitoring capabilities and flood-frequency estimates. This system consisted of a network of eight streamflow-gaging stations equipped with rain gages and linked by telephone telemetry, and eight auxiliary rain gages. In 1978, New Jersey's first local flood-warning system was installed by the USGS in Somerset County. In response to this problem the NWS, in cooperation with the Green Brook Flood Control Commission, installed a rain gage in North Plainfield, and two flash-flood alarms, one on Green Brook at Seeley Mills and one on Stony Brook at Watchung, in the early 1970's. Flooding on smaller streams in urban areas is more difficult to predict, however. Since the mid 1960's the NWS has been able to effectively forecast flooding on larger streams in Somerset County, such as the Raritan and Millstone Rivers. Original Somerset County Flood-Warning System This fact sheet describes the Somerset County Flood Information System and identifies its benefits. The availability of data provided by this system will improve the flood forecasting ability of the National Weather Service (NWS), and has assisted Somerset County and municipal agencies in planning and execution of flood-preparation and emergency evacuation procedures in the county. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Somerset County, installed the Somerset County Flood Information System (SCFIS) in 1990. Recognizing the need for detailed hydrologic information for Somerset County, the U.S. ![]() Accurate forecasts and warnings cannot be made, however, without detailed information about precipitation and streamflow in the drainage basin. One has only to recall the flood of August 2, 1973, in Somerset County, New Jersey, in which six lives were lost and major property damage occurred, to realize how unexpected and costly, especially in terms of human life, a flood can be. The timely warning of a flood is crucial to the protection of lives and property. Somerset County Flood Information System By William M. ![]()
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