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Gaging Station Description
01653600
- Piscataway Creek at Piscataway, Maryland
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Prepared 6/1974 by B.M. Helinsky; Updated 04/1989 by J.F. Hornlein;
HTML version 07/2001 by J.P. Fisher
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Location - Lat. 39°42'20", long. 76°58'00", Prince
Georges County, Hydrologic Unit 02070010, on left bank 75 ft downstream from
bridge on State Highway 223, at Piscataway, 0.4 mi upstream from Tinker
Creek, and 4.8 mi upstream from mouth.
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Station can be reached from the intersection of MD Route 210
(Indian Head Highway) and Farmington Road as follows:
- Proceed east on Farmington Road 0.8 mi to Livingston Road.
- Turn left onto Livingston Road and proceed 0.6 mi to Floral Park Road.
- Bear right onto Floral Park Road and proceed 0.7 mi to Piscataway Road.
- Turn left onto Piscataway Road and then left into entrance to St. Marys Church, 0.1 mi.
- Park in gravel lot opposite old church and walk down driveway to stream and gage on right.
- See map for route to gage.
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Parking
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Potential Hazards -
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Establishment - September 19, 1965.
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Drainage Area - 39.5 square miles (measured on U.S.G.S.
topographic maps).
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Datum of Gage - 10 feet (from U.S.G.S. topographic maps).
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Gage - A 42" diameter corrugated steel house and well set
in concrete. Two 2 1/2-inch intake pipes, the lower equipped with a 2 1/2-inch gate
valve and a sheet metal cone mounted on a 2-inch riser pipe for flushing. Intakes
are equipped with static tubes.
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Intake
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| Pertinent Elevations | Gage Height (feet) |
| Peak of house | 13.4 |
| Instrument shelf | 10.9 |
| Top of floor | 8.3 |
| Sill of well door | 4.3 |
| Top of upper intake (Inside, outside) | ---, 2.7 |
| Top of lower intake (Inside, outside) | ---, --- |
| Top of footing | -0.5 |
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Equipment - Sutron 8400 Electronic Data Recorder (EDL)
(30 min. logging interval) referenced to an integral float-tape gage.
Maximum and minimum indicator clips are available for reference.
Outside gage is a type A wire-weight gage bolted to the downstream
handrail of the bridge 50 feet upstream from the gage house.
A standard USGS 2" x 6' crest-stage gage is attached to the streamward
face of the gage house.
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Equipment shelf
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| Pertinent Elevations | Gage Height (feet) |
| Crest-stage gage (base cap) | 4.88 |
| Crest-stage gage (length of stick) | 5.88 |
| Wire-weight gage (check-bar) | 21.87 |
| Maximum recordable stage | ---- |
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History - No other continuous recording gaging station
has been operated at this site on this stream by the U.S.G.S. Some miscellaneous
were made at a site upstream during 1955 and 1957.
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Vertical Controls
[BM = Bench Mark;
RM = Reference Mark;
RP = Reference Point]
| RM-1 |
(1967) |
Destroyed. |
| RM-2 |
(1967) |
Destroyed. |
| RM-3 |
(1967) |
Northeast corner (side nearest gage house steps)
of protective lip over the cleanout door of gage house.
Elevation 6.910 ft, gage datum. |
| RM-4 |
(1974, Basic) |
Chiseled square on upstream corner of left control
support abutment (at location of old bridge). Elevation 8.890 ft,
gage datum. |
| RM-5 |
(1974) |
Top of spike driven in telephone pole, 67 feet
shoreward from gage on upstream side of access driveway.
Elevation 9.002 ft, gage datum. |
| RP-1 |
(1967) |
Chiseled square in center of lower lip of doorway
to gage house. Elevation 8.550 ft, gage datum. |
| RP-2 |
(1967) |
Top of instrument shelf at chiseled mark.
Elevation 10.854 ft, gage datum. |
| RP-3 |
(1974) |
Top edge of streamward angle bracket on gage
house floor. Elevation 8.226 ft, gage datum. |
NOTE: See sketch for relative location of vertical controls.
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Channel - The channel, about 50 ft wide in the
vicinity of the gage, is straight for about 300 ft upstream, bending from
the left, and for about 400 ft downstream bending to the left. Both banks
are heavily wooded and subject to much overflow at high stages. The left
bank is overflowed at a gage height of 6.5 ft while the right bank is
overflowed at a gage height of 7.5 ft. The streambed is composed of sand
and gravel and is subject to shifting.
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Looking upstream
from gage
Looking downstream
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Control - Low-water control is a concrete weir located
30 feet downstream. Channel acts as control for medium and high stages.
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Control
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Discharge Measurements - Good low and medium water
measurements may be obtained by wading in vicinity of the gage. High-water
measurements are made from the downstream side of the highway bridge 50 ft
upstream from the gage. which has a span of about 100 feet.
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Wading measurement
Bridge measurement
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Floods
| Date | Gage Height (feet) | Source of Information |
| Sept 6, 1979 | 11.21 | from floodmarks by U.S.G.S. |
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Point of Zero Flow - 1.60 ft, May 4, 1988 (by levels).
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Winter Records - Stage-discharge relationship affected
by ice at times during extensive and severe cold periods.
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Regulation - None.
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Diversion - None.
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Accuracy - Records should be good to excellent.
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Cooperation - Maryland Geological Survey.
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Photographs - Print collections may be available.
Contact the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center Office about any
collections in the official station records.
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