Flow Through the Generator from 2000 through 2011
The image below shows the annual distribution of monthly flows through the Deep Creek Lake hydro-electric turbines in the form of a box plot. A box plot tells you a lot of statistical parameters in a simple image. The meaning of a box item is shown in a green box near the top of the image. To learn more about box plots go to this WikipediA article.
These charts are to some degree a reflection of the weather over the years, since Brookfield (the owner of the generators) can only operate when there is enough water.
This image could tell the following:
- June through October are the driest months of the year - the tourists months.
- November through May are the rainiest months.
- Except for December, there is quite a variability in the amount of water available each year during these months when you look at the medians.
- This plot should be of use to Brookfield (they probably have that already, or something similar) to plan their generation capability and help set their anticipated income stream(s).
Click on the image to get a pdf file
The data that was used was obtained from MDE and is provided here in a zipped Excel spreadsheet