Low-Flow and Base-Flow Characteristics of Streams in Virginia

Problem

 Streamflow characteristics are used to indicate the ability of a stream to supply sufficient flow for municipal water supplies, waste disposal, ground-water recharge, and the maintenance of natural and sustainable streamflow regimes. These characteristics can be used to estimate water budgets, which are necessary to the Commonwealth's requirement for local and regional water-supply planning, and can provide valuable insight into the availability of surface water and ground water, and enhanced understanding of aquifer properties within a watershed.

Low-flow and base-flow relations have become increasingly important to State agencies, individuals, and USGS cooperative studies as demands for water supply have intensified along with recognition of the need to maintain sustainable and ecologically favorable water flows. An extended drought from 1998 through 2002 amplified the need to understand and effectively manage water supplies and rates of flow.

Objectives:

  The low-flow and base-flow characteristics of streams in Virginia will be determined, analyzed, and published. Data characterizing Virginia streams over the USGS period of record will be used. These include data which span the interval from 1984 through 2007 and were not available as part of previous studies of low- and base-flow in Virginia streams.

Relevance and Benefits:

The study provides hydrologic information and data characterizing the low- and base-flow conditions of streams in Virginia. The study also provides relations and equations for predicting the low-flow and base-flow characteristics of Virginia's streams.
 

Images of low-flow and base-flow in Virginia streams.