Beaver Brook receives water level gage

Nov. 7—A new partnership between federal, state and Keene officials is asking residents to monitor water levels in Beaver Brook using text messaging and a water gage, aimed at helping improve forecasting in a historically flood-prone area, according to the state department of environmental services.

The City of Keene, N.H. Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Silver Jackets, a team of federal and state agencies, came together to install a water gage in October where the brook crosses Roxbury Street according to a recent news release from NHDES.

To participate, volunteers read the water level gage, a measuring pole constructed against the wall of the brook, from the sidewalk and text the phone number listed on the sign. The text should have the station number, NH1000, followed by the written reading of the gage.

The city and emergency management officials will use this data to determine how quickly the brook fills up in different weather conditions and predict where it will spill out.

East Keene, near Beaver Brook, has a history of flooding, most recently in the summer of 2021 after Keene saw more than five inches of rain, which resulted in washed out roads and evacuations. The brook runs through the heart of the city's east side, and the neighborhood was one of the worst-hit areas by the 2021 storms.

Data received from these submissions will be added automatically to a long-term database and can be viewed live at crowdhydrology.com/listing/nh1000. CrowdHydrology is a nationwide crowdsourcing initiative that allows members of the public to submit water level data.

The gage was installed using leftover grant money from the U.S. Geological Survey had left over half a year ago, according to Keene Public Works Director Kürt Blomquist.

Now that the gage has been installed, Blomquist said the next phase of the initiative is to begin crowd sourcing, following the model of the National Weather Service's "weather spotters." This federal program enlists residents of specific areas to become regular reporters of local river conditions.

This site in Keene is the first of its kind in New Hampshire, according to the release from NHDES.

The project also involved the New Hampshire Silver Jackets, which focuses on flood risk management to help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from floods. The Silver Jackets were created as a Tropical Storm Irene response team in 2011.

Given the Beaver Brook area's history of flooding, N.H. State Geologist Shane Csiki said she hopes the new gage will develop a loyal base of volunteers.

"We hope we have some individuals who want to become long term gage readers that want to go out there and record information during low flow and rain events," Csiki said during a phone interview.

Even while the brook is low, it's helpful to have people report the information because they can, over time and with enough information, establish relationships and correlate water levels with weather patterns.

"We wanted to provide the opportunity for citizens and those interested in rivers and the environment to engage with collecting data in real-time, at any time," Csiki said in the release, "that also provides direct benefit to public safety and rivers management."

Jamie Browder can be reached at 352-1234 ext. 1427 or jbrowder@keenesentinel.com