Oconee River at Milledgeville water level

Name: Oconee River at Milledgeville water level (U.S. Geological Survey)
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
License: https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits

River gauge, Oconee River, Georgia, United States

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

7.08ft Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 05:15 PM EDT (37 min ago)

Flow: 323 cfs

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Forecast Minor flood stage

The forecast expects the river to fall to 7.10 ft by Monday, October 19 at 02:00 PM. Issued Monday, October 19 at 09:27 AM by NOAA National Weather Service.

What this means

Low water at Oconee River at Milledgeville: the gauge reads 7.08 ft, below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.90 ft below the median of 7.98 ft for mid-October, based on 39 years of readings. It is 14.92 ft below the flood stage of 22.00 ft. A year ago it stood at 7.08 ft as well.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. The forecast expects the river to fall to 7.10 ft by Monday, October 19 at 02:00 PM. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 7.07 ft – 7.11 ft.

Compared with 39 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 7.98 ft0.90 ft below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 7.08 ft – 9.10 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (39 years of records)
Same day last year: 7.08 ft0.00 ft
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 7.07 ft – 7.11 ft
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 6.99 ft – 16.29 ft
Highest on record: 42.90 ftFebruary 25, 1961
Forecast peak: 7.10 ftMonday, October 19 at 02:00 PM

Paddling and fishing conditions

At low levels, plan for shorter paddling trips and expect to walk your boat through a few shoals.

For reference, flood stage is 22.00 ft.

What happens at each level

50.00 ft: Record flooding continues with the water level hitting the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. The bridge will become an obstacle and act like a dam causing some backwater and erosion eddies to the sides of the bridge. The bridge will be closed by state officials. Widespread inundation flooding of roads and structures on the east side of Milledgeville near the river and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch will continue. Sinclair Dam will likely have around 22 gates open to reach this height.
48.00 ft: Record flooding continues with the water level reaching the bottom of the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. The bridge will be closed by state officials. Widespread inundation flooding of roads and structures on the east side of Milledgeville near the river and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch continues. Sinclair Dam will likely have around 20 gates open to reach this height.
45.00 ft: Record flooding continues with the water level approaching the bottom of the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. The bridge will likely be closed by state officials. Widespread inundation flooding of roads and structures on the east side of Milledgeville near the river and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch continues. Sinclair Dam will likely have around 17 gates open to reach this height.
43.00 ft: Record flooding begins with the water level just five feet below the bottom of the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. Widespread inundation flooding of roads and structures on the east side of Milledgeville near the river and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch continues. Sinclair Dam will likely have around 14 gates open to reach this height.
38.00 ft: Major flooding begins with numerous roads closed in the east and south sides of Milledgeville near the river...and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch Stream. Several structures will be flooded. Widespread flooding of woodlands and pastures near the river occurs. Sinclair Dam will likely have eight gates open to reach this height.
36.00 ft: Significant flood continues with numerous roads closed in the east and south sides of Milledgeville near the river...and along Fishing Creek and Tanyard Branch Stream. Several structures will be flooded. Widespread flooding of woodlands and pastures near the river occurs. Sinclair Dam will likely have seven gates open to reach this height.
34.00 ft: Moderate flooding continues to expand further into the woodlands and pastures along the river. Fishing Creek continues to back up and spread further into woodland areas and cover some roads. Some structures near the creek will begin to flood. Tanyard Branch Stream continues to flood. Sinclair Dam will likely have six gates open to reach this height.
32.00 ft: Moderate flooding begins and expands further into the woodlands and pastures along the river. Fishing Creek continues to back up and spread further into woodland areas and covers some roads in low lying areas. Tanyard Branch Stream continues to flood. Sinclair Dam will likely have five gates open to reach this height.
30.00 ft: Minor flooding continues to expand further into the woodlands and pasture upstream and downstream from the gage near the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. Fishing Creek backs up and a few buildings along the creek will be flooded. Also Tanyard Branch Stream between East Thomas and East Charleston Streets in Milledgeville will flood. Sinclair Dam will likely have four to five gates open to reach this height.
27.00 ft: Minor flooding continues in the woodlands and pasture upstream and downstream from the gage located around one half mile upstream from the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. The parking lot and the Oconee River Greenway Park just downstream from the bridge will be completely flooded with water several feet deep. Sinclair Dam will have three to four gates open to reach this height.
24.00 ft: Minor flooding continues upstream and downstream from the gage located around one half mile upstream from the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. The parking lot and portions of the Oconee River Greenway Park just downstream from the bridge will be flooded. Low lying areas of woodlands and pasture near the river will be flooded one to two feet deep. Sinclair Dam will likely have two gates open to reach this height.
22.00 ft: Flood stage is reached. Minor flooding occurs upstream and downstream from the gage located around one half mile upstream from the Georgia Highway 22 and 24 bridge. Low lying portions of woodlands and pasture in the natural flood plain will begin to flood. This will include portions of the sidewalks in the Oconee River Greenway Park just downstream from the bridge. Sinclair Dam will have one to two gates open to reach this height.
7.08 ft: Right now

Impact statements from the U.S. National Weather Service.

Highest crests on record

Chance of at least minor flooding in October to December: 8 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	42.90 ft	February 25, 1961
2	41.10 ft	March 9, 1998
3	40.20 ft	October 2, 1989
4	39.35 ft	March 3, 1971
5	38.70 ft	August 16, 1928
6	37.60 ft	March 6, 1996
7	37.30 ft	November 30, 1948
8	37.30 ft	November 30, 1949
9	37.06 ft	February 4, 1998
10	37.00 ft	February 28, 1929

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 0.04 in. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 65° 45° – Wind 14 mph

19 Mon 70° 42° – Wind 11 mph

20 Tue 77° 47° – Wind 5 mph

21 Wed 78° 51° – Wind 5 mph

22 Thu 79° 51° – Wind 3 mph

23 Fri 77° 52° – Wind 8 mph

24 Sat 74° 50° – Wind 12 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:41 AM Sunset 06:56 PM Daylight 11 hr, 15 min First quarter 62%

Map

Other gauges on the Oconee River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Oconee River near PenfieldRiver gauge, Oconee River	2.84 ft	Low	−0.04 ft	44 mi
Oconee River at Avant Mine, near OconeeRiver gauge, Oconee River	1.29 ft	Low	+0.01 ft	13 mi
Oconee River near OconeeRiver gauge, Oconee River	1.12 ft	Low	+0.03 ft	26 mi
Oconee River at DublinRiver gauge, Oconee River	1.29 ft	Low	−0.04 ft	42 mi
Oconee River near Mount VernonRiver gauge, Oconee River	0.63 ft	Low	−0.08 ft	71 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Commissioner Creek at US 441, at McIntyreRiver gauge, Commissioner Creek	7.23 ft	Very low	−0.06 ft	17 mi
Murder Creek below EatontonRiver gauge, Murder Creek	1.08 ft	Below flood stage	−0.01 ft	19 mi
Buffalo Creek at GA 272, near OconeeRiver gauge, Buffalo Creek	5.85 ft	Very low	−0.06 ft	20 mi
Little River near EatontonRiver gauge, Little River	2.39 ft	Very low	−0.05 ft	20 mi
Big Sandy Creek at US 441, near IrwintonRiver gauge, Big Sandy Creek	2.84 ft	Very low	−0.02 ft	23 mi
Ocmulgee River at MaconRiver gauge, Ocmulgee River	5.54 ft	Low	−0.10 ft	29 mi
Falling Creek near JulietteRiver gauge, Falling Creek	1.03 ft	Low	±0	29 mi
Ocmulgee River at GA 18, at Dames FerryRiver gauge, Ocmulgee River	3.29 ft	Normal	−0.01 ft	30 mi

Questions and answers

How does the Oconee River at Milledgeville compare with last year?

It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 7.08 ft.

What is flood stage for the Oconee River at Milledgeville?

The official flood stage is 22.00 ft. The level is currently 14.92 ft below it.

What is a normal level for the Oconee River at Milledgeville in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 7.98 ft. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 7.08 ft and 9.10 ft, based on 39 years of records.

Is gage height the same as water depth?

No. Gage height is measured from a fixed reference point chosen by the agency, so a reading of 10 ft does not mean the river is 10 ft deep.

What is the water level of Oconee River at Milledgeville today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 05:15 PM EDT, the water level was 7.08 ft. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Oconee River at Milledgeville rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Oconee River at Milledgeville normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 39 years of daily readings for this time of year.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:02223000 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 33.09017, -83.21478 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: NAVD88
Update interval: every 15 minutes
Licence: Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	7.08 ft	2026-10-19 21:15	Provisional
Flow	323 cfs	2026-10-19 21:15	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Oconee River at Milledgeville (usgs:02223000). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/georgia/oconee-river-at-milledgeville

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer