Troubling trend at Big Spring

[Chaz]

I've noticed that the gauge at Big Spring Creek is way down from the time the gauge was first installed. It seems to be rapidly approaching 20 CFS when it was constant at the mid 20's for most of the time since it was installed in November 2004.
Does anyone know if there have been big withdrawals in the from of wells in that drainage or have insight into what is going on?

 

[Dave_W]

While I haven't checked flows at BS for awhile, they have been well under average for a long time (most of the last year or longer). It's been discussed extensively here on PAFF.

The consensus in CVTU and among local regulars is this is a lingering result of the 2016 drought conditions combined with long term pressure on local aquifers. Cumberland and Franklin Counties have seen substantial development growth in recent years.

The better precip numbers this year have had many of us expecting to see a gradual increase in flows but so far this affect doesn't seem to be registering.

 

[troutbert]

Is there a quarry nearby that is pumping?

That is not the only possible explanation of course. But it is a common situation in limestone watersheds.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

I remember when this became a problem at Logan Spring. There was a precipitous drop in the quality of angling ever since. Reduced base flows and much smaller fish.

 

[ryansheehan]

It was below 18 earlier this year, it appears to be slowly heading back up.

 

[ShipFlyFisher]

Even with a relatively wet summer in the Cumberland Valley, September and November were very dry with barely over an inch of rain. We need a few more wet months in a row to get the flows going.

 

[wbranch]

Years ago when I first moved to York in 1984 I started to fish Donegal Spring Run and there was a pretty good head of water in the stream for a number of years and I used to catch some really nice fish to 16". Back then there was little housing development in the surrounding couple of miles.

Then a large development was built nearby and the volume of water just plummeted down to about half the flow that I was used to seeing. If all those new homes had to have wells dug it is easy to see how the aquifer could be depleted and Donegal Spring had less water. I haven't fished there in years so I don't know what the conditions are now.