Low Flow Inventory

Millers River Basin

Observations

The East Branch of the Tully River near Athol and Priest Brook near Winchendon are listed by the Office of Water Resources as high stress rivers based on their low discharge per square mile of watershed compared to other rivers in the state (1). The East Branch of the Tully River was also identified as flow stressed in the Draft Millers River Hydrologic Assessment that was funded by the MA Watershed Initiative. In this assessment, "virgin," pre-development stream flows were estimated and compared to measured stream flows before and after the construction of the Birch Hill and Tully flood control facilities, which occurred in 1949. The East Branch of the Tully River showed a 33% decline in 95% exceedance flows between "virgin" and regulated flows since 1950, while the pre-1950 estimated flows were similar to "virgin" conditions. In addition, the 7Q10 since 1950 is 75% lower than the estimated “virgin” 7Q10 (2).

References
1) Stressed Basins in Massachusetts. Final draft, OWR version 3. 12/01.
2) Draft Millers River Hydrologic Assessment, 2002. (Watershed Initiative Team Project)