HikeArizona.COM

Insane river data right now, and this is only the beginning?

Verde below Tangle Creek, 29,500
Tonto Creek above Gun Creek, 32,000
Agua Fria River, 21,000
Cherry Creek, 6,000
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/current/?type=flow

Anyone know if the Bloody Basin rd on the Agua Fria side has opened up yet after all of the rain?

I haven't heard if they've had a chance to repair the road yet ... but the best way to find out is to contact the Cave Creek Ranger District:
Address:
40202 North Cave Creek Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85262
Phone: (480) 595-3300
Fax: (480) 595-3346

#throwbackthursday in honor of @azbackpackr 's birthday!

But really, just posting because of some INSANE river data in the past day or two.

Verde topped out a few drops under 100,000cfs last night, the 4th highest flow since 1891.
Tonto 25k
Agua Fria 20k
Upper Salt 30k
West Clear 10k
Oak Creek 15k
Dry Beaver 10k
Burro 20k
Big Sandy 30k
East Verde 5k
Gila out east 5k
Gila out west 15k

All the SRP reservoirs are full: Roosevelt, Apache, Canyon, Saguaro, Horseshoe, Bartlett, and Cragin.
Alamo is full.
Only poor San Carlos is lacking at the moment, though it is up 100 feet since last summer. It is currently 40 feet below full pool, but also higher than it has been since at least 2008 which is as far back as I can find data records.

The Hassayampa yesterday was flowing like we've never seen. New River though wasn't as impressive down by SR74 as we thought it would be. The intersection of SR 74 and New River road has dozens of RV campers, again something we've never seen before. I read that the Black Cyn RV camp was evacuated and maybe these were some of the folks.

@chumley
Happy FullDay!

Seems to be a slight uptick in the flow of the Gila River into Painted Rock Reservoir.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrogr ... a3&wfo=psr

The_Eagle wrote:Happy FullDay!

Everyday is a Full Day for him, on multiple levels.

https://www.abc15.com/entertainment/eve ... activities

as recently as 3 p.m. there were rowers and kayakers on the lake
all kinds of debris flowing downstream
the city of tempe has a pontoon boat keeping debris from getting caught on the float line above the dam
i wouldn't go near that lake right now - yuck

Alston_Neal wrote: ↑Mar 23 2023 11:09 am New River though wasn't as impressive down by SR74 as we thought it would be. The intersection of SR 74 and New River road has dozens of RV campers, again something we've never seen before.

I heard they closed SR74 because of New River running high. As per the squaters RV campers. They've been in that area in mass for the past couple years.

chumley wrote:Oak Creek 15k

Mrs. big_load saw that one in person and was amazed, not to mention concerned about getting stuck on the wrong side. She also noticed the dry riverbed near Sky Harbor wasn't dry. She got back to NJ tonight.

@chumley
thank you! It's been fun following the USGS gage page, and several commentators, YouTube, etc., but I haven't actually seen the water in person yet. Going to see Lake Mary and Mormon Lake today.

I arrived in Flagstaff yesterday, just for the weekend. It was snowing. Friends and family I talked to are darned tired of it! Giant heaps of dirty grey snow everywhere. My daughter pointed out a caved-in garage roof in her neighborhood.

As you know, the sad thing is that whatever they can't capture into the reservoirs and recharge basins is destined for evaporation in Painted Rock Reservoir.

Too bad they can't send it to the Colorado River via the CAP!

I've been wanting to hike the Black Canyon Trail all this month. I cancelled a few weeks ago because I knew the Agua Fria would be running too high and there are four crossings. Last weekend was my daughter's birthday, so I was planning to go today. Maybe next weekend? I think it may subside enough to safely cross, but how turbid will the water be?

@azbackpackr
@Alston_Neal
I was wondering if Painted Rock could fill up and overflow? I imagine they engineered it to back up high and wide before that could happen.

@Hansenaz
If I understand the chart, Flood Stage 661 feet is the overflow level.

@Alston_Neal
@Hansenaz

Thing is, its capacity is over 2.4 million acre feet, which from what I'm told, is more than enough to hold what is potentially coming from upstream. I need to do a bit more research.

@azbackpackr
The base elevation is 550', Flood stage 661', Major flood stage 705', maximum depth 181'.

azbackpackr wrote:Thing is, its capacity is over 2.4 million acre feet

More impressive is it's watershed is 50,800 square miles. Holy Snickers!!
After this winter lets push this baby to see how far it'll go.

Salt River was running at 30 K CFS yesterday by the airport on my commute home. Holy moly, most water I have seen moving there since the lake blew out many years ago.

@Alston_Neal
They are letting 600 cfs out of it now. Did you see the amazing aerial photos of the river and reservoir?

@azbackpackr
Have a link to the pics you're talking about? Would love to see