In cooperation with the 

Maine Department of Human Services Drinking Water Program and 

Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission 

Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 

through April 30, 2003 

Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5106


U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey
Cover Photograph: The Basin outlet dam, April 2003. (Photography by Gregory Stewart, U.S. Geological Survey) 
Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 

through April 30, 2003 

By Robert W. Dudley 

In Cooperation with the 

Maine Department of Human Services Drinking Water Program and 

Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission 

Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5106 

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior 

Gale A. Norton, Secretary 

U.S. Geological Survey

Charles G. Groat, Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Augusta, Maine: 2004 

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services


Box 25286, Denver Federal Center


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iii 

CONTENTS


Abstract................................................................................................................................................................................... ..1

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. ..1

Purpose and Scope ...................................................................................................................................................... ..2

Description of the Study Area ..................................................................................................................................... ..2

Physiography and Geology .................................................................................................................................. ..2

Climate ................................................................................................................................................................ ..4

Surface-Water Hydrology.................................................................................................................................... ..4

Data Used in this Study .......................................................................................................................................................... ..5

Precipitation................................................................................................................................................................. ..5

Evaporation .................................................................................................................................................................. ..5

Surface-Water Inflows and Outflows ......................................................................................................................... ..5

Withdrawals and Lake Storage ................................................................................................................................... ..7

Water Budget for Lake Auburn, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 ................................................................................... ..8

Uncertainties of Water-Budget Components ......................................................................................................................... .12

Precipitation................................................................................................................................................................. .12

Evaporation .................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Surface-Water Inflows ............................................................................................................................................... .13

Surface-Water Outflows ............................................................................................................................................ .13

Withdrawals ................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Lake Storage ................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Ground Water .............................................................................................................................................................. 14

Residual ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Figures 

1. Map showing location of the Lake Auburn study area .............................................................................................. 3

2. Graph showing monthly surface-water inflow, surface-water outflow, and municipal 


withdrawal volumes for the Lake Auburn water budget, water-budget years 2001-03 ..................................... 9

3. Graph showing monthly precipitation, evaporation, and net changes in storage for the Lake Auburn


water budget, water-budget years 2001-03 ........................................................................................................ 10


4. Graph showing annual surface-water inflows and outflows, precipitation, evaporation, municipal 


withdrawals, net changes in storage, and residuals for the Lake Auburn water budget,


water-budget years 2001-03 ................................................................................................................................ 11


5. Graph showing the mean annual inflow water budget for Lake Auburn, water-budget


years 2001-03....................................................................................................................................................... 12


6. Graph showing the mean annual outflow water budget for Lake Auburn, water-budget


years 2001-03....................................................................................................................................................... 12


Tables 

1. U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in the Lake Auburn watershed used for computing 


the water budget.................................................................................................................................................. 4

2. Annual precipitation and evaporation for Lake Auburn, water-budget years 2001-03 ............................................. 6

3. Annual surface-water inflow to and outflow from Lake Auburn for gaged and ungaged tributaries,


water-budget years 2001-03 ................................................................................................................................ 6

4. Annual municipal withdrawals from Lake Auburn and changes in lake storage, water-budget years 2001-03....... 7

5. Annual water budgets for Lake Auburn, water-budget years 2001-03...................................................................... 12

iv 

Conversion Factors 

Inch/Pound to SI 

Multiply By To obtain 

Length 

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm) 

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm) 

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) 

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) 

Area 

acre 4,047 square meter (m2) 

acre 0.4047 hectare (ha) 

square mile (mi2) 259.0 hectare (ha) 

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) 

Volume 

gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) 

gallon (gal) 0.003785 cubic meter (m3) 

gallon (gal) 3.785 cubic decimeter (dm3) 

million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic meter (m3) 

cubic foot (ft3) 28.32 cubic decimeter (dm3) 

cubic foot (ft3) 0.02832 cubic meter (m3) 

Flow rate 

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second (m3/s) 

gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second (L/s) 

million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second (m3/s) 

Volume in million cubic feet (Mcf) may be converted to million gallons (Mgal) as follows: 

Mgal = (Mcf)*7.48 

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows: 

°C = (°F - 32) / 1.8 

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29). 

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). 
Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 


through April 30, 2003 

By Robert W. Dudley 

Abstract 

Annual water budgets were developed for Lake 

Auburn in southwestern Maine for three water-budget 

years, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003. The 

measured inflow components of the water budget are 

direct precipitation to the surface of the lake and 

surface-water inflow. Mean annual inflow (precipitation and surface water) to Lake Auburn during waterbudget years 2001-03 was 816 million cubic feet. The 

measured outflow components of the water budget are 

evaporation from the surface of the lake, municipal 

water-supply withdrawals by the Auburn and Lewiston 

Water Districts, and surface-water outflow. Mean 

annual outflow (evaporation, withdrawals, and surface 

water) during water-budget years 2001-03 was 834 

million cubic feet. The two largest components of the 

water budget are the surface-water inflow and municipal withdrawals. Surface-water inflow was about 62 

percent of the mean annual inflow budget and municipal withdrawals were about 47 percent of the mean 

annual outflow budget. Changes in lake storage also 

were included in the water budget. 

Dry conditions were present in Maine from 1999 

to 2002, with a severe drought occurring in 2001 and 

2002. On February 20, 2002, Auburn Water District 

recorded Lake Auburn’s lowest recorded water level, 

256.7 ft, during the period of record from April 1, 1940 

to June 20, 2003. 

The total inflow and outflow volumes, adjusted 

for changes in lake storage, nearly balance for each 

water year. Any non-zero remainder volume for a 

given water-budget year is the residual. The mean 

annual residual for the three water-budget years is 

-1.06 million cubic feet (-7.93 million gallons). The 

changing sign of the computed residual from waterbudget year to water-budget year during the 3-year 

study period indicates that no systematic errors were 

made in estimating inflows to or outflows from Lake 

Auburn. Because ground-water flow is unaccounted 

for in this water budget, any net ground-water flow is 

assumed to be contained in the residual term. 

Introduction 

The Maine Drinking Water Program began a 

Source Water Assessment Program in 1998 to evaluate 

all public water supplies to determine the potential for 

future contamination of drinking-water sources and 

avenues to protect those sources. Water-supply evaluation includes delineation of source-water protection 

areas, inventories of potential sources of contamination, and assessments of the susceptibility of the 

drinking-water source to contamination (Maine 

Department of Human Services, 2000). Because 

contaminants may be transported to a water-supply 

reservoir by surface-water runoff, direct precipitation, 

or ground-water infiltration and discharge, the determination of a water budget is an important component of 

a source-water assessment. 

A study was done by Camp Dresser and McKee 

from 1985 to 1987 to characterize water quality in the 

Lake Auburn watershed. Objectives of the study were 

to identify and investigate existing water-quality issues 

in the lake and watershed, estimate possible effects of 

rezoning on water quality, and develop recommendations for a long-term water-quality monitoring program 

(Camp Dresser and McKee, 1987). The investigators 

concluded that the water quality of Lake Auburn was 

good and recommended various erosion, storm-water, 

and land-use controls for future management of waterquality in the watershed (Camp Dresser and McKee, 

1987). 

The Auburn Water District (AWD) and 

Lewiston Water Division (LWD) are responsible for 

maintaining an adequate water supply for the cities of 

Auburn and Lewiston; Lake Auburn is the sole source 

for both communities (Normand Lamie, Auburn Water 

District, oral commun., 2003). A quantitative analysis 

of the water budget for Lake Auburn will provide information to the AWD and LWD that is integral to 

managing the water supply as well as protecting the 

water quality. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in 

cooperation with the Maine Department of Human 

Services Drinking Water Program, and the Lake 
2 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

Auburn Watershed Protection Commission, began a 

study in 2000 to compute a water budget for Lake Auburn 

for a 3-year period. 

Purpose and Scope 

This report presents annual water budgets for Lake 

Auburn for water-budget years 2001-03. For this report, 

a water-budget year is defined as a year beginning May 1 

and ending April 30 and is denoted as the year in which it 

ends—thus, the year from May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2001 

is called water-budget year 2001. This report presents the 

computation and associated uncertainty of the following 

major water-budget components: (1) inflows, including 

direct precipitation on the lake surface and all major 

surface-water tributary inflows; (2) outflows, including 

evaporation, surface-water outflow, and municipal watersupply withdrawals; and (3) changes in lake storage. 

Amounts of direct ground-water flow into and out of the 

lake bed were not quantified in this investigation. 

Description of the Study Area 

Lake Auburn, in southwestern Maine (fig. 1), is the 

principal water supply for about 45,000 people. In 2002, 

the AWD and LWD treated and delivered a daily average 

of about 1.03 million ft3 (cubic feet) (7.7 Mgal (million 

gallons)) of water to residents of Lewiston and Auburn 

(Auburn Water District and the Lewiston Water Division, 

2002). The cities of Lewiston and Auburn are about 25 mi 

(miles) southwest of Augusta (fig. 1) with 2001-02 populations of 35,690 and 23,203, respectively (Maine 

Register, 2002). Combined, Lewiston and Auburn are the 

second-most populous urban area in Maine, second only 

to the city of Portland (2001 population of 64,249) 

(Maine Register, 2002). Lake Auburn is north of the city 

of Auburn on the western side of the Androscoggin River 

(fig. 1). 

Lake Auburn, completely confined within the 

corporate limits of Auburn, has a mean surface area of 

3.53 mi2

 (square miles), a mean depth of 40 ft (feet), a 

maximum depth of 120 ft, and an approximate volume of 

3,920 million ft3 (Auburn Water District and the 

Lewiston Water Division, 2002; Maine Department of 

Environmental Protection, October 1, 2003). Based on 

the mean annual flow of 825 million ft3 through the lake 

(computed as the average of the mean annual inflow and 

mean annual outflow for the water-budget study 

described in this report), the lake had a mean hydraulic 

retention time of 4.75 years. 

The water level of Lake Auburn is controlled at the 

East Auburn Dam on Bobbin Mill Brook (fig. 1). The 

dam was originally a timber-crib structure constructed in 

the late 1800’s for sawmill operations, and later was 

acquired by AWD from the Union Power Company in the 

early 1920’s. The current (2004) dam structure was built 

in 1946, when the original structure was replaced with a 

concrete, earth-fill, and stone-wall structure; this was 

followed by a comprehensive upgrade in 1967. Repairs 

were made in April 2002, during this water-budget study, 

to eliminate leakage (approximately 4 Mgal/d) through 

the spillway stoplogs and sluice gate (Normand Lamie, 

Auburn Water District, written commun., 2004). The 

present dam is 16 ft high and has a 90-ft long concrete 

spillway (Normand Lamie, Auburn Water District, 

written and oral commun., 2003). 

The Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission owns about 1,700 acres of land in the Lake Auburn 

watershed and about 70 percent of the Lake Auburn 

shoreline to help protect the quality of the water supply 

(Normand Lamie, Auburn Water District, oral commun., 

2003). The AWD and LWD collect lake and stream 

water-quality data during ice-free months. The waterquality samples are analyzed for constituents including 

dissolved oxygen, bacteria, volatile organic chemicals, 

metals, radionuclides, organic carbon, nutrients, temperature, and water clarity (Auburn Water District and the 

Lewiston Water Division, 2002). 

Physiography and Geology 

The topography of the Lake Auburn watershed and 

surrounding area is hilly with elevations ranging from 

235 ft at the Bobbin Mill Brook gaging station (USGS 

streamflow-gaging station number 01056505) to 770 ft 

on Hersey Hill, about 1.5 mi west of The Basin (fig. 1). 

The watershed is rural and is predominantly forested with 

some farmland, hayfields, gravel mining pits, and residential development. 

During a period from about 1.5 million to as recent 

as 10,000 years ago, continental glaciers intermittently 

covered Maine. As the glaciers slowly moved across the 

land, they altered the landscape by eroding and transporting rock and sediment debris for miles. The rock and 

sediment debris was deposited by meltwater streams and 

at the ice margins as the glaciers melted. As a result, the 

surficial geology of present-day Maine is largely 

composed of sand, gravel, and other unconsolidated sediments (Marvinney and Thompson, 2000; Johnson, 1925). 

The surficial geology of the Lake Auburn watershed is 

predominantly glacial till (a heterogeneous, unsorted mix 
Introduction 3

Base from U.S. Geological Survey

1:24,000 topographic quadrangles,

Lake Auburn East, Lake Auburn West,

Minot, and Lewiston.

01056505

City of Auburn

City of Lewiston

01056420

01056400

01056450

01056460

01056480

Lake Auburn

Taylor

Pond

Androscoggin River

Little

Wilson

Pond

Mud

Pond

The Basin

Route 4

SCALE

0 2 MILES

0

1

1 2 KILOMETERS

70 13’45” o

70 20’10” o

44 13’53” o

44 08’48” o

01057000 Bobbin Mill Brook

Townsend Brook

Hersey

Hill

East

Auburn

Dam

EXPLANATION

U.S. Geological Survey

continuous-record

streamflow-gaging station

U.S. Geological Survey

partial-record streamflowgaging station

Lake Auburn watershed

boundary

Town boundary

Significant sand and

gravel aquifer

Continuous-record

gaged subbasin

Partial-record gaged

subbasin

Buckfield

Hebron

Turner

Minot

Auburn

Greene

Lewiston

CANADA

CANADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Portland

Augusta

Lewiston/Auburn

Lake Auburn

Watershed

Bangor

01056420

01056400

Figure 1. Location of the Lake Auburn study area.
4 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

of material ranging in size from fine sand to boulders) and 

ice-contact glaciofluvial deposits of sand, gravel, and silt 

(Thompson and Borns, 1985). The ice-contact glaciofluvial deposits were deposited by meltwater streams adjacent to stagnant glacial ice in the northwestern arm of the 

watershed forming the hilly topography bordering The 

Basin, Little Wilson Pond, and Mud Pond. The northern 

and western shores of Lake Auburn, as well as the shoreline of Little Wilson Pond, roughly demarcate the inland 

limit of late glacial marine submergence (Thompson and 

Borns, 1985). 

Throughout the State of Maine, fractured bedrock 

and scattered sand and gravel deposits serve as groundwater aquifers. In the Lake Auburn watershed, the 

Townsend Brook watershed is underlain by a significant 

sand and gravel aquifer (Neil, 1998a, 1998b). A significant sand and gravel aquifer is defined as an aquifer 

capable of yielding 10 or more gallons per minute to a 

typical private well. The aquifer in the Townsend Brook 

watershed is a source of water to the brook during lowflow periods and may be hydraulically connected with 

sand and gravel deposits extending northward outside of 

the surface-water drainage for Lake Auburn (fig. 1). 

Climate 

The temperate climate in the Lake Auburn watershed is typified by mild summers and cold winters. Based 

on records from the National Weather Service (NWS) 

station at Lewiston, the mean annual temperature (1971-

2000) is 46.7 o

F, and mean monthly temperatures range 

from 20.5 oF in January to 71.4 oF in July. The mean 

annual precipitation (1971-2000) at the Lewiston station 

is 45.8 in. and is fairly evenly distributed throughout the 

year (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2002). 

Dry conditions were present in Maine from 1999 to 

2002, with a severe drought occurring in 2001 and 2002. 

During this period, most USGS ground-water wells were 

at record-low levels, more than 2,000 private watersupply wells went dry, and water levels declined in all 

major surface-water reservoirs to below regulatory and 

(or) previous record-low levels (Lombard, 2004). On 

February 20, 2002, AWD recorded Lake Auburn’s lowest 

recorded water level, 256.7 ft, during the period of record 

from April 1, 1940 to June 20, 2003. The mean lake level 

during the same period of record was 259.8 ft. 

Surface-Water Hydrology 

The USGS, using techniques described by Rantz 

and others (1982), collected streamflow data for five 

inflow streams to and one outflow stream from Lake 

Auburn from 1999 to 2003 (table 1). Continuous streamflow data were recorded for two inflow tributaries, The 

Basin Outlet (USGS gaging station number 01056400) 

and Townsend Brook (station 01056480), and one 

outflow stream, Bobbin Mill Brook (station 01056505) 

(fig. 1). Non-continuous streamflow data (partial-record 

stations) were collected for three small, unnamed inflow 

streams (stations 01056420, 01056450, and 01056460) 

(fig. 1). Streamflow data for these surface-water stations 

are published in annual USGS data reports (Stewart and 

others, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). 

The total watershed area contributing runoff to 

Lake Auburn is 14.77 mi2 (Fontaine, 1978). The principal 

tributary to Lake Auburn, on the basis of drainage-area 

size, is The Basin Outlet, which drains 8.01 mi2. The 

Basin Outlet drains a chain of ponds in the northwestern 

half of the Lake Auburn watershed including The Basin, 

Little Wilson Pond, and Mud Pond (fig. 1). After The 

Basin Outlet, the inflow tributaries to Lake Auburn, listed 

Table 1. U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in the Lake Auburn watershed used for computing the water budget. 

[Feb, February; Apr, April; Jun, June; Aug, August] 

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station 

Number Name Period of record Type of record 

01056400 The Basin Outlet at North Auburn Feb 2000-Apr 2003 Continuous 

01056420 Unnamed Brook at Johnson Road at North Auburn Jun 2000-Apr 2003 Partial 

01056450 West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive near Auburn Jun 2000-Apr 2003 Partial 

01056460 East Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive near Auburn Jun 2000-Apr 2003 Partial 

01056480 Townsend Brook near Auburn Apr 2000-Apr 2003 Continuous 

01056505 Bobbin Mill Brook near Auburn Aug 1999-Apr 2003 Continuous 
5 

from largest to smallest by drainage area size, are 

Townsend Brook (1.88 mi2), East Unnamed Brook at 

Lakeshore Drive (0.56 mi2), Unnamed Brook at Johnson 

Road (0.34 mi2), and West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore 

Drive (0.23 mi2

) (fig. 1, table 1). The two continuousrecord USGS stations on The Basin Outlet and 

Townsend Brook were used to measure streamflow 

runoff from 67 percent (9.89 mi2) of the Lake Auburn 

watershed area. The three partial-record stations on East 

Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive, Unnamed Brook at 

Johnson Road, and West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore 

Drive were used to gage streamflow runoff from 7.7 

percent of the watershed area (1.13 mi2

) (table 1). Runoff 

from the remaining 3.75 mi2

 of the Lake Auburn watershed area was ungaged. 

Bobbin Mill Brook is the sole surface-water 

outflow from Lake Auburn. The continuous-record 

USGS station on Bobbin Mill Brook gaged 100 percent 

of the surface-water outflow from the watershed during 

the study. The surface area of Lake Auburn is 3.53 mi2; 

thus, the drainage area represented by the Bobbin Mill 

Brook streamflow-gaging station is 18.3 mi2. 

Data Used in this Study 

Annual water budgets for Lake Auburn were 

computed for water-budget years 2001-03. The major 

water-budget components used to compute the annual 

water budgets for Lake Auburn include direct precipitation to the lake surface, evaporation from the lake 

surface, surface-water inflows, surface-water outflows, 

municipal water-supply withdrawals by AWD and LWD, 

and changes in lake storage. 

Precipitation 

Precipitation data obtained from the NWS station 

at Lewiston were used to estimate direct precipitation to 

the surface of Lake Auburn. The mean annual precipitation for the Lewiston station during the 2001-03 period of 

the study was 37.6 in. (table 2)—17.9 percent lower than 

the 30-year (1971-2000) mean (normal) of 45.8 in. for 

this station. Precipitation was 4.6 in. below normal in 

water-budget year 2001, 11.0 in. below normal in waterbudget year 2002, and 8.9 in. below normal in waterbudget year 2003. The mean monthly precipitation for 

the station during the 3-year period of the study was 3.1 

in. March 2001 had the largest amount of monthly 

Data Used in this Study 

precipitation (7.4 in.); and August 2001 had the smallest 

amount of monthly precipitation (0.22 in.). 

Evaporation 

Evaporation was computed on a monthly basis for 

the annual water budgets, using mean monthly air 

temperatures and monthly hours of daylight. Mean 

monthly air temperature data obtained from the NWS 

stations at Lewiston were used to estimate air temperatures at Lake Auburn. The monthly hours of daylight 

were interpolated from data presented by Dunne and 

Leopold (1978) that relate duration of daylight to latitude. 

The Hamon equation was used to compute daily 

evaporation from Lake Auburn (Hamon, 1961). The 

Hamon equation uses saturation vapor density and hours 

of daylight to compute evaporation in centimeters per 

day. Saturation vapor density is a function of air temperature and was computed on the basis of the mean monthly 

air temperatures described above. The hours of daylight 

used in the Hamon equation were the mean monthly 

values. Monthly evaporation was then computed by 

multiplying the daily evaporation yielded by the Hamon 

equation by the number of days in each month. Monthly 

evaporation values were summed to compute evaporation totals for the year (table 2). 

Surface-Water Inflows and Outflows

 Surface-water inflows to and outflows from Lake 

Auburn were calculated using several different techniques because of the variety of streamflow data available. Inflows from The Basin Outlet and Townsend 

Brook to Lake Auburn and outflows from Lake Auburn 

at Bobbin Mill Brook (table 3) were computed using 

continuous-stage recorders and standard USGS streamflow-gaging techniques (Rantz and others, 1982). 

Streamflow data collected at USGS streamflow-gaging 

stations are published annually in water-resources data 

reports (Stewart and others, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). 

Inflows to Lake Auburn from three tributaries with 

partial streamflow records— East Unnamed Brook at 

Lakeshore Drive, West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore 

Drive, and Unnamed Brook at Johnson Road, (table 

3)—were calculated using the Maintenance of VarianceExtension, type 1, (MOVE.1) method; also known as the 

Line of Organic Correlation (Hirsch, 1982; Helsel and 

Hirsch, 1992). MOVE.1 is a method of estimating flows 

at a stream on days when no data are collected. The 
6 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

Table 2. Annual precipitation and evaporation for Lake Auburn, water-budget years 2001-03. [All values given in inches; Lake Auburn precipitation estimated using precipitation data from the National Weather Service climate station at Lewiston, Maine 

(Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2002; U.S. Geological Survey, October 1, 2003; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, October 1, 2003); 

Lake Auburn evaporation estimated using air-temperature data from the National Weather Service climate station at Lewiston, Maine (National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, September 1, 2003); water-budget year is defined as a year beginning May 1 and ending April 30 and denoted as the year in which 

it ends—thus, water-budget year 2001 is the year spanning from May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2001] 

Water-budget year Lake Auburn Precipitation difference Lake Auburn 

(May 1 to April 30) precipitation from 1971-2000 mean evaporation 

2001 41.2 -4.6 21.6 

2002 34.8 -11.0 24.1 

2003 36.9 -8.9 22.7 

Mean 37.6 -8.2 22.8 

explanatory (independent) variable, as used here, is daily 

streamflow from a (usually nearby) continuous-record 

USGS streamflow-gaging station. The response (dependent) variable is streamflow data from a partial-record 

gage. Streamflow estimates from MOVE.1, unlike estimates from standard regression equations, will have a 

statistical distribution similar to that expected if the 

streamflows had actually been measured on a continuous 

basis (Helsel and Hirsch, 1992). MOVE.1 assumes a 

linear relation between the concurrent logarithms of 

measured streamflows at the continuous-record gaging 

sites and the partial-record gaging sites. 

MOVE.1 was analyzed for its applicability to the 

three partial-record streamflow gages for water-budget 

years 2001-03. The logarithms of streamflow values for 

the three partial-record streamflow-gaging stations were 

plotted in relation to the logarithms of flow values for 

nearby continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations 

including The Basin Outlet, Townsend Brook, and Little 

Androscoggin River near South Paris (station number 

01057000; fig. 1). Relation plots for each station were 

analyzed for linearity, outliers that may have a large 

effect on the relation between the variables, and constant 

variance. The plots in relation to streamflow values for 

Table 3. Annual surface-water inflow to and outflow from Lake Auburn for gaged and ungaged tributaries, water-budget years


2001-03.


[Inflows and outflows are given in millions of cubic feet; water-budget year is defined as a year beginning May 1 and ending April 30 and denoted as the year


in which it ends—thus, water-budget year 2001 is the year spanning from May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2001; mi2

, square miles] 

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station Drainage 

Number Name area (mi2

) 2001 2002 2003 Mean 

01056400 The Basin Outlet at North Auburn 8.01 392 215 266 291 

01056420 Unnamed Brook at Johnson Road at North Auburn 0.34 15.7 12.4 12.9 13.7 

01056450 West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive near Auburn 0.23 8.78 6.66 6.65 7.36 

01056460 East Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive near Auburn 0.56 21.2 16.4 15.3 17.6 

01056480 Townsend Brook near Auburn 1.88 62.9 40.7 45.4 49.7 

All other ungaged inflow 3.75 152 118 116 129 

Total surface-water inflow and outflow budget: 

Total surface-water inflow 14.8 652 408 463 508 

01056505 Total surface-water outflow, Bobbin Mill Brook near Auburn* 18.3 446 154 160 253 

* Drainage area of Bobbin Mill Brook outflow includes the surface area of Lake Auburn (3.53 mi2) 
Data Used in this Study 7 

the Little Androscoggin River near South Paris were 

judged to be the best for all three partial-record gages. 

Although the relations for streamflow between the 

three partial-record gages and Little Androscoggin River 

continuous-record gage were the best, the plots indicated 

sparse data for extending the relation to high flows. Due 

to this questionable relation for high flows, the MOVE.1 

relation was not used for the months with the highest 

flows. Instead, the cubic feet per square mile (CFSM) 

method was used to estimate April flows for the three 

partial-record gages. The mean April flow for each 

water-budget year for each of the three gages was 

computed as the product of the ratio of their respective 

drainage areas with that of the Little Androscoggin 

River, multiplied by the mean April flow at the Little 

Androscoggin River gage. 

Inflow to Lake Auburn from ungaged drainage 

areas was estimated by use of the CFSM method. The 

total monthly inflow volume per square mile from East 

Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive, West Unnamed 

Brook at Lakeshore Drive, and Unnamed Brook at 

Johnson Road was multiplied by the remaining ungaged 

drainage area (3.75 mi2

) to calculate mean monthly flows 

from this ungaged drainage area to Lake Auburn. 

During periods of low flow (summer and early 

fall), the sand and gravel aquifer in the Townsend Brook 

watershed provides Townsend Brook with substantial 

base flow. For example, during August, September, and 

October of the drought in 2001, Townsend Brook (12.7 

percent of the Lake Auburn watershed) provided 96 

percent of the 7.13 million ft3 (53.3 Mgal) that flowed 

into Lake Auburn during that time. By comparison, The 

Basin Outlet, draining 54.2 percent of the Lake Auburn 

watershed, provided 0.08 million ft3

 (0.60 Mgal) during 

August and zero during September and October of 2001. 

For August, September, and October of the following 

drought year (2002), Townsend Brook contributed 80 

percent and The Basin Outlet provided 17 percent of the 

total surface-water inflow—a 3-month total inflow 

volume of 8.92 million ft3

 (66.7 Mgal). 

Although streamflow runoff volume from 

Townsend Brook was substantial during low-streamflow 

periods, the total streamflow runoff volume per square 

mile from Townsend Brook during the 3-year study 

period was 25.7 percent less than the volume from the 

rest of the watershed. The lower runoff volume per 

square mile from Townsend Brook could be a result of 

infiltration of water into the sand and gravel aquifer 

during ground-water recharge periods where the water 

was later evapotranspirated by vegetation from the root 

zone, and (or) transported through the aquifer to 

discharge outside of the Lake Auburn surface-water 

drainage area. 

Withdrawals and Lake Storage 

Total monthly municipal withdrawals from Lake 

Auburn, in millions of gallons, were provided to the 

USGS by the AWD. These data were converted to 

millions of cubic feet for the water-budget calculations. 

During the three water-budget years examined, the AWD 

and LWD withdrew a mean of 392 million ft3

 (2,930 

Mgal) of water from the lake per year (table 4). Annual 

withdrawals during the 3 years showed little variation, 

with values ranging from 379 to 402 million ft3 (2,840 to 

3,010 Mgal). Monthly withdrawals varied seasonally 

with larger withdrawals during the summer and smaller 

withdrawals during the winter and spring. The mean 

monthly withdrawal over the three-year period was 32.7 

million ft3 (245 Mgal) with a maximum of 40.7 million 

ft3 (304 Mgal) in July, 2000 and a minimum of 25.8 

million ft3 (193 Mgal) in October, 2001. 

The AWD controls the level of the lake at the East 

Auburn Dam on the eastern side of Lake Auburn (fig. 1). 

Changes in lake storage were computed with an equation 

that relates lake-water level to storage volume. Lake 

Auburn water-level data, measured on the 1st, 10th, and 

Table 4. Annual municipal withdrawals from Lake Auburn and changes in lake storage, water-budget years 2001-03. 

[All values given in millions of cubic feet; water-budget year is defined as a year beginning May 1 and ending April 30 and denoted as the year in which it 

ends—thus, water-budget year 2001 is the year spanning from May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2001] 

Water-budget year Withdrawal Net change in storage 

2001 402 0.00 

2002 379 -139 

2003 396 89.0 

Mean 392 -16.7 
8 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

20th day of each month since April 1, 1940, were 

provided to the USGS by the AWD. The water levels that 

corresponded to the first day of each month were used to 

calculate monthly changes in storage in the lake. The 

water-level data were converted to a storage value, in 

millions of cubic feet, using a quadratic storage-rating 

equation. Summing all the monthly changes in storage for 

all the months in a water-budget year yielded an annual 

net change in storage for that water-budget year (table 4). 

The largest monthly gain in storage was between March 

1 and April 1, 2003 with a net gain of 139 million ft3 

(1,040 Mgal) of water, and the largest monthly loss from 

storage was between July 1 and August 1, 2001 with a net 

loss of 108 million ft3

 (808 Mgal) of water. During the 3-

year period of study, there was a net loss of 49.9 million 

ft3 (373 Mgal) of water from storage—consistent with the 

fact that the lake level was lower on May 1, 2003 (260.5 

ft) than it was on May 1, 2000 (261.0 ft). 

Water levels during the 2001-03 water-budget 

years were measured by AWD personnel and periodically 

calibrated using a surveyor’s level, back-sighting on a 

benchmark tablet constructed on the Route 4 bridge on 

the eastern side of Lake Auburn (Mary Jane Dillingham, 

Auburn Water District, oral commun., 2004). The median 

water level recorded during the period of study was 259.6 

ft. The lowest water level recorded during the period of 

study was 256.7 ft on February 20, 2002, which also is the 

record-low water level for the period of record since 

April 1, 1940. The highest water level recorded during 

the period of study was 261.2 ft on June 20 and July 1, 

2002—only 0.4 ft lower than the maximum control elevation of East Auburn Dam (261.6 ft) (Normand Lamie, 

Auburn Water District, written commun., 2003). The 

record-high water level for the period of record for Lake 

Auburn is 262.4 ft, recorded on April 1, 1953 as a result 

of a flood in southwestern Maine that occurred during 

March 27-30, 1953. 

Water Budget for Lake Auburn, May 1, 2000 

through April 30, 2003 

The water budget equation used for this investigation of Lake Auburn is summarized as follows: Water 

into the lake (inflows) is equal to water out of the lake 

(outflows) plus net change in storage in the lake itself, 

shown as: 

ppt + SWin + GWin = 

E + SWout + GWout + WD + ∆S (1) 

where ppt is precipitation, 

SWin is surface-water flow in, 

GWin is ground-water flow in, 

E is evaporation, 

SW is surface-water flow out, out 

GW is ground-water flow out, out 

WD is withdrawals, and 

∆S is net change in storage. 

Monthly volumes were computed for all components of the water budget except ground-water flow in 

and out of the lake bed (figs. 2 and 3). The annual water 

budgets for water-budget years 2001-03 for Lake Auburn 

are illustrated in figure 4. The largest component of the 

inflow water budget is the surface-water component (fig. 

5), making up, on average, about 62 percent of the total 

mean annual inflow. The largest component of the 

outflow water budget is the municipal withdrawals by 

AWD and LWD (fig. 6), making up, on average, about 47 

percent of the total mean annual outflow. 

The total mean annual inflow to Lake Auburn 

during water-budget years 2001-03 was 816 million ft3 

(6,100 Mgal). The total mean annual outflow from Lake 

Auburn for the same period was 834 million ft3

 (6,240 

Mgal). 

The annual water budgets for Lake Auburn for 

water-budget years 2001-03 are shown in table 5. The 

total inflow and outflow volumes, adjusted for changes in 

lake storage, nearly balance for the 3-year water-budget. 

Any non-zero remainder volume for a given waterbudget year is the residual. The mean annual residual for 

the three water-budget years is -1.06 million ft3 (-7.93 

Mgal). The changing sign of the residual from waterbudget year to water-budget year (table 5) indicates that 

no systematic errors were made with regard to estimating 

inflows to or outflows from Lake Auburn. Because 

ground-water flow is unquantified in this water budget, 

any net ground-water flow through the lake bed is 

assumed to be contained in the residual term. 
300 

200 100 

0 

-100 -200 

-300 

APRIL 

APRIL 

APRIL 

Surface-water inflow Municipal withdrawals Surface-water outflow 

VOLUME, IN MILLIONS OF CUBIC FEET 

EXPLANATION 

MAY 

2000 2001 2002 2003 

CALENDAR YEAR 

Figure 2. Monthly surface-water inflow, surface-water outflow, and municipal withdrawal volumes for the Lake Auburn water budget, water-b
300 

200
100


0 

-100 -200 

-300 

Evaporation 

APRIL MARCH 

NOVEMBER 

APRIL 

AUGUST 

Net change in storage Precipitation 

VOLUME, IN MILLIONS OF CUBIC FEET 

EXPLANATION 

MAY 

JULY 

MAY JULY 

2000 2001 2002 2003


CALENDAR YEAR


Figure 3. Monthly precipitation, evaporation, and net changes in storage for the Lake Auburn water budget, water-budget years 2001-03. 
-700 

-600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 

0 

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 

VOLUME, IN MILLIONS OF CUBIC FEET 

E

2001 2002 2003 

WATER-BUDGET YEAR (MAY 1 TO APRIL 30) 

Figure 4. Annual surface-water inflows and outflows, precipitation, evaporation, municipal withdrawals, net changes in storage, and residuals for the 

budget, water-budget years 2001-03. 
12 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

62.2% 

37.8% 

Evaporation 

22.6% 

47.0% 

30.4% Surface-water inflow 

Precipitation Municipal Withdrawals 

Surface-water outflow 

Figure 5. Mean annual inflow water budget for Lake Auburn, Figure 6. Mean annual outflow water budget for Lake Auburn, 

water-budget years 2001-03. water-budget years 2001-03. 

Uncertainties of Water-Budget 	 Precipitation 

Components Precipitation that falls directly on the surface area 

of Lake Auburn was counted as precipitation input; Although the water budget can be summarized in a precipitation falling elsewhere in the Lake Auburn water- straightforward manner, accurately quantifying each of shed, for budget purposes, was accounted for with the 
 the individual terms used in the budget is more difficult. surface-water inflow budget term. Because no precipita-
 This discussion of uncertainties and limitations of data is 


intended to aid in evaluating the accuracy of each term in tion stations are located directly on the lake itself, the 


the water-budget equation and to help identify the major values from the NWS climate station in Lewiston served 


components of the budget residual. The potential errors as the estimate for precipitation directly on the lake. The 


associated with the following hydrologic components are NWS climate station in Lewiston is about 3.5 mi from the 


estimated on an annual basis. It is expected that errors centroid of the lake.


associated with short-term (monthly) hydrologic esti- Winter (1981) evaluated errors associated with the
 mates are larger than long-term (annual) estimates.	 collection and interpretation of precipitation data and 

related its importance to water-balance studies of lakes. 

As precipitation data are averaged over longer time 

Table 5. Annual water budgets for Lake Auburn, water-budget years 2001-03. 

[All values given in millions of cubic feet; water-budget year is defined as a year beginning May 1 and ending April 30 and denoted as the year in which it 

ends—thus, water-budget year 2001 is the year spanning from May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2001] 

Waterbudget year Preciptiation Evaporation Surface-water 

inflow 

Surface-water 

outflow 

Municipal 

withdrawals 

Net change in 

storage Residual 

2001 340 179 652 446 402 0.00 -34.5 

2002 280 197 408 154 379 -139 98.3 

2003 304 188 463 160 396 89.0 -67.0 

Mean 308 188 508 253 392 -16.7 -1.06 
13 

periods, errors are smaller than errors associated with 

precipitation data averaged over shorter time periods. 

Errors can be in the range of 10 to 20 percent for monthly 

estimates, and about 5 percent for seasonal time-period 

estimates, based on studies in relatively flat terrain with 

a sparse precipitation-gage density (200-250 mi2/gage) 

(Winter, 1981). The mean annual precipitation in the 

Lake Auburn watershed shows little areal variability, 

ranging from 44 to 46 in., based on regional precipitation 

data for the northeastern United States from 1950-81 

(Randall, 1996). Given the proximity of the NWS precipitation station to the lake and the low spatial variability in 

precipitation for the watershed, annual precipitation estimates from the NWS Lewiston station are assumed to be 

within 5 percent of the actual precipitation falling on the 

surface of the lake. 

Evaporation 

Hamon (1961) evaluated his evaporation equation 

against year-round data for valleys covering a wide variation in climate, including sites in Wisconsin and Maine. 

He also evaluated the equation against an extensive yearround study of monthly lake evaporation in New England 

and New York and found close correspondence (Hamon, 

1961). 

The Hamon equation was one of 11 equations 

compared with evaporation determined by a rigorous 

energy-budget method (Winter and others, 1995; Sturrock, 1992). Winter and others (1995) found that 

although evaporation estimated by the Hamon equation 

compared reasonably well with values computed by the 

energy-budget method, it showed some seasonal bias 

from May through September. Specifically, the Hamon 

equation overestimated evaporation early in the summer 

season, and underestimated evaporation later in the 

summer season. 

Annual evaporation values computed for this 

water budget using the Hamon equation ranged from 

21.6 in. in water-budget year 2001 to 24.1 in. in waterbudget year 2002 with a 3-year mean of 22.8 in. By 

comparison, a NWS contour map of annual lake evaporation for the United States for the period 1946-55 

(Bedient and Huber, 1988) shows a value of about 23.5 

in. for the Lake Auburn area. Another map of annual lake 

evaporation based on climatological data from 1930-49 

shows a value of 22 in. for the Lake Auburn area (Knox 

and Nordenson,1955). The congruence of these evaporation estimates lends a measure of confidence to using the 

Hamon equation for this water budget. Due to this close 

correspondence to other studies, computed annual evapUncertainties of Water-Budget Components 

oration for this study is assumed to be within 20 percent 

of the actual evaporation. Error associated with monthly 

evaporation estimates is expected to be greater. 

Surface-Water Inflows 

Surface-water inflows to the lake include channelized and non-channelized flow. All gaged, channelized 

flow into Lake Auburn is estimated using USGS streamflow-gaging station data (67 percent of the total contributing watershed area to the lake). USGS streamflow 

records that are rated as excellent (good, fair) are estimated to be within 5, (10, 15) percent of the true daily 

streamflow 95 percent of the time (Stewart and others, 

2001). Most records for the 3-year study period are rated 

good or fair. 

All other surface-water inflows are estimated 

using MOVE.1 or the CFSM methods. The surface-water 

inflow from East Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive, 

West Unnamed Brook at Lakeshore Drive, and Unnamed 

Brook at Johnson Road (7.7 percent of the total contributing watershed area to the lake) was estimated using 

MOVE.1. Errors associated with the MOVE.1 method 

were not computed. The data at these sites indicated 

questionable relations at high flows so the CFSM method 

was used to estimate mean April inflows for these 

drainage areas—the MOVE.1 relation was used to estimate inflows for all other months. The CFSM method 

also was used to estimate flow contribution from the 

remaining, ungaged parts of the watershed (25 percent of 

the total contributing watershed area to the lake). Error 

associated with this method is not known. Because the 

CFSM estimates are based on flows for East Unnamed 

Brook at Lakeshore Drive, West Unnamed Brook at 

Lakeshore Drive, and Unnamed Brook at Johnson Road, 

errors in MOVE.1 estimates for these streams will 

contribute to errors in the CFSM estimates. 

Surface-Water Outflows 

All surface-water outflow from Lake Auburn is 

estimated using USGS streamflow-gaging station data. 

USGS streamflow records that are rated as excellent 

(good, fair) are estimated to be within 5, (10, 15) percent 

of the true daily streamflow 95 percent of the time 

(Stewart and others, 2001). Most records for the 3-year 

study period are rated good or fair. 
14 Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003 

Withdrawals 

Data for municipal water-supply withdrawals from 

Lake Auburn by AWD and LWD were provided to the 

USGS courtesy of the AWD and LWD. The monthly 

withdrawal volumes are measured using Venturi-type 

flow meters with a mean estimated error of about 5 

percent (Daniel Rodrigue, Auburn Water District, oral 

commun., 2003). 

Lake Storage 

Storage was computed using a quadratic function 

that relates lake elevation with storage volume. It is 

assumed that the surface area of the lake used in this 

equation is within 5 percent (0.18 mi2) of its true surface 

area (3.53 mi2). AWD is able to report the water level 

with an accuracy of 0.05 ft (Mary Jane Dillingham, 

Auburn Water District, oral commun., 2003). The 

combined uncertainty of accurately delineating the area 

of the lake and accurately measuring the water level of 

the lake for the purpose of computing storage is about 3.0 

percent at the median lake level (259.6 ft). 

Ground Water 

Ground water flow into and out of Lake Auburn 

through the lake bed is unquantified in this water budget. 

Any net ground-water flow through the lake bed is 

assumed to be contained in the residual term. Because 

ground water can affect the chemical composition of a 

lake’s water, even when it is a small component of a 

lake’s total water budget, quantifying the exchange of 

ground water with Lake Auburn is an important prerequisite to managing the water quality. Solutes that originate 

in the shallow ground water, occurring either naturally 

from geologic sources or atmospheric deposition or from 

anthropogenic sources such as septic tank leach fields or 

farmland, can flow into the lake through ground water, 

eventually affecting the water quality of the lake. To 

understand a lake’s nutrient or chemical budget, groundwater inputs and losses must be quantified (Sacks and 

others, 1998). 

Residual 

Under ideal conditions, the residual for a thorough 

water budget conducted over a long period of time (many 

years) should be equal to zero. For a water-budget that 

does not directly quantify ground-water flow through the 

lake bed, the residual term is assumed to be composed of 

unquantified net ground-water flow and uncertainties 

associated with the estimates of all other water-budget 

components. Monthly residuals for the water budget 

calculated in this report are well-distributed about zero 

and show no correlation with time or any other waterbudget component. 

Errors associated with budgeting precipitation, net 

changes in storage, and municipal withdrawals are relatively small. Assuming an uncertainty of about 5 percent 

for precipitation estimates, the error in computing annual 

water volume input to Lake Auburn from precipitation 

would be 1.9 percent of the mean annual inflow budget 

(816 million ft3). Error associated with uncertainties in 

the calculation of storage volume, although variable with 

volume, is assumed to be about 3.0 percent for computing 

storage at median lake level (259.6 ft). Although municipal withdrawals are the largest component of the mean 

annual outflow water budget, the mean error in estimating withdrawals (5 percent uncertainty) would be 

about 2.4 percent of the mean annual outflow budget (834 

million ft3

). 

Errors associated with budgeting evaporation and 

ungaged surface-water inflows are the largest contributions of uncertainty to the water budget. If the uncertainty 

in estimating annual evaporation is assumed to be about 

20 percent, the error in computing water volume removed 

from Lake Auburn due to evaporation would be 4.5 

percent of the mean annual outflow budget. The error 

associated with surface-water inflow from the ungaged 

areas of the watershed cannot be reasonably quantified. 

Summary 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Maine Department of Human Services 

Drinking Water Program, and the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission, began a study in 2000 to 

compute a water budget for Lake Auburn for a 3-year 

period (May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003). Computation and associated uncertainty of the following major 

water-budget components were included: (1) inflows, 

including direct precipitation on the lake and all major 

surface-water tributary inflows; (2) outflows, including 

evaporation, surface-water outflow, and municipal watersupply withdrawals; and (3) changes in lake storage. 

The total mean annual inflow to Lake Auburn 

during water-budget years 2001-03 is 816 million ft3 

(cubic feet) (6,100 Mgal (million gallons)). The total 

mean annual outflow from Lake Auburn for the same 
15 

period is 834 million ft3 (6,240 Mgal). The largest 

component of the inflow water budget is surface-water 

inflow, making up, on average, about 62 percent of the 

total mean annual inflow. The largest component of the 

outflow water budget is the municipal withdrawals by 

Auburn Water District and Lewiston Water Division, 

making up, on average, about 47 percent of the total 

mean annual outflow. 

The significant sand and gravel aquifer in the 

Townsend Brook watershed provides Townsend Brook 

with substantial base streamflow during low-streamflow 

periods. During August, September, and October of the 

drought years 2001 and 2002, Townsend Brook (12.7 

percent of the Lake Auburn watershed) provided 96 and 

80 percent, respectively, of the total surface-water inflow 

to Lake Auburn. Although streamflow runoff volume 

from Townsend Brook was relatively substantial during 

low-streamflow periods in 2001 and 2002, the total 

streamflow runoff volume per square mile from 

Townsend Brook over the 3-year study period was 25.7 

percent less than the volume from the rest of the watershed. This diminished runoff could be a result of infiltration of water into the sand and gravel aquifer during 

ground-water recharge periods where the water was later 

evapotranspirated by vegetation from the root zone, and 

(or) transported through the sand and gravel aquifer to 

discharge outside of the Lake Auburn surface-water 

drainage area. 

The total inflow and outflow volumes, adjusted for 

changes in lake storage, nearly balance for each water 

year. The remainder of the sum of inflow minus outflow 

volumes is the residual. The mean annual residual for the 

three water-budget years is -1.06 million ft3 (-7.91 

Mgal). The residual term is assumed to be composed of 

unquantified net ground-water flow and uncertainties 

associated with all other measured and estimated waterbudget components. 

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Co., 650 p. 

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Dudley, Robert W. —Water Budget for Lake Auburn, Maine, May 1, 2000 through April 30, 2003—USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5106 

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