May was drier than normal, and as a result the Allegheny River is low. HydroMetoroligist Russel Demaris studied the Allegany in the Oil City region, and says the river is typically a foot higher.

Demaris says that a lot of the water levels depend on how much is let out of the Kinzua Dam.

Springtime runoff and snowmelt usually have the northern Allegheny dam spewing between 2,500 and 5,000 cubic feet of water each second to lower its pool for summer.

The dam’s resource manager Bob Hoskin says it's abnormal to have this low a flow for this long a time,