According to the NJ DEP the state continues to be in a "Statewide Drought Warning". While we've had some rain and snow blanket the area in the last two weeks we're still dry compared to be where we should be. Near me the Delaware River has been running below mean river flow levels since the summer. Currently the river at Trenton is running just above 5,000 cfs.
This past fall New Jersey's fall trout stocking program had to be modified due to low water levels in the various streams and rivers which receive fish for the put and take fishery.
The low water flows have affected the supply of drinking water to people in and around Trenton. The Trenton Water Works has come under fire, again, for failing to be able to consistently deliver drinking water to its 225,000 people in the city and surrounding communities. For us, we don't rely on municipal water but well water supplied though a pump which supplies us well water.
Trenton Water Works is located on the banks of the Delaware River just above the Calhoun Street Bridge. It takes 6.5 billion gallons of water per day in ground and surface (river) water. Of the water taken in and filtered and processed 27 million gallons of usable water are distributed to customers per day. As of late they've had a problem dealing with frazil ice due to the low river flows. Frazil ice is a slushy mix of ice crystals that inhibit flow into the plant. It's different than an ice dam caused by large sections of frozen water, or ice, which disrupts flow into the plant.
The Delaware River, and its flows, falls under the control of the Delaware River Basin Commission. The DRBC is made up by the four governors (NJ, NY, PA, DE), the Army Corp of Engineers, and the North Atlantic Division Engineer. The Delaware River and its reservoirs and tributaries feed drinking water for NYC and cities and towns down and along the Delaware River.
If you're a fly fisherman then you know all about flows and releases from the reservoirs at the top of the Delaware River. It's a balance of keeping enough water in the reservoirs, enough water heading downstream, and enough water in the system to sustain wildlife, like wild trout. One key indictor of how the system is doing is the Montague Target.
The minimum flow at Montague is 1,750 cfs. Currently the river is running at 3,910 cfs. If it hits the target the reservoirs have to release water into the system. If it dropped below then there wouldn't be sustainable levels downriver. Also, the salt line in the Delaware is normally around RM 65.
If the salt line creeps up the river it can affect drinking water. The highest the salt line hit was RM 102 during the 1960's drought. That was around where the Schuylkill River empties into the Delaware just below Philadelphia.
I'm already counting down the days until March when the early spawning striped bass enter the river system. If recent history repeats itself we will see spring deluges of rain which blow out the river, followed by drought like conditions, with "normal" weather thrown in from time to time. These all-or-none weather events can't be good for migrating and spawning fish like shad, herring, and striped bass. Hopefully this year will be different and we will get snow in the highest regions which will allow for snow pack melt off which will feed the aquifers. Water from the ground is good for the river, and the fish, and the fisherman as well.