Kennebec River watchers won’t see the familiar site of Coast Guard cutters breaking up ice this spring due to little or no ice in the lower part of the river, the Maine Emergency Management Agency said today.
“River ice is below normal in most areas of the state,” according to the agency.
Today, the Maine River Flow Advisory Commission met in Augusta to discuss stream flows and snowpack and judged the potential for spring flooding to be normal.
“Today’s conditions are a snapshot for today,” said Rob McAleer, director of MEMA. “It looks like conditions will be stable for at least the next couple of weeks. But one rainstorm at the wrong time could cause major flooding.”
The agency also reports that mandated federal cuts — commonly called sequestration — could cause between seven and 12 stream gauges to be shutdown between April 1 and Oct. 1. Although no gauges needed to forecast floods will be shutdown, the gauges are used for scientific or environmental purposes, said Robert Lent, director of the Maine Office of the U.S. Geological Survey New England Water Science Center.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.