French Broad River flows at lowest level in 113 years

ASHEVILLE — Stream flows in the French Broad River have reached their lowest levels since record-keeping began in 1895 and likely will continue to drop as the region’s drought drags on.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Sunday that the river at Pearson Bridge in Asheville was flowing at a rate of 121 million gallons a day on Sunday. That’s according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

That rate falls well below the median stream flow of 781 million gallons a day for this time of year and below a previous low of 139 million gallons a day measured in 2002.

Low stream flows means commercial rafting companies have cut trips and water systems have issued conservation measures as stream flows continue to dwindle.

Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com

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