Etowah River at Canton water level

Name: Etowah River at Canton 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, Etowah River, Georgia, United States

Directions

Very low for mid-October

Water level

1.16ft Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 18, 2026, 07:15 PM EDT (36 min ago)

Flow: 190 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 1.20 ft by Sunday, October 18 at 02:00 PM. Issued Sunday, October 18 at 09:54 AM by NOAA National Weather Service.

What this means

Low water at Etowah River at Canton: the gauge reads 1.16 ft, far below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 1.99 ft, based on 78 years of readings, so the river stage is 0.83 ft below typical. It is 14.84 ft below the flood stage of 16.00 ft. On the same day last year the reading was 1.26 ft, a difference of −0.10 ft.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. The forecast expects the river to fall to 1.20 ft by Sunday, October 18 at 02:00 PM. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 1.10 ft – 2.40 ft.

Compared with 78 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 1.99 ft0.83 ft below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.33 ft – 3.26 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (78 years of records)
Same day last year: 1.26 ft−0.10 ft
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.10 ft – 2.40 ft
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.06 ft – 13.76 ft
Highest on record: 26.70 ftJanuary 7, 1946
Forecast peak: 1.20 ftSunday, October 18 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 16.00 ft.

What happens at each level

31.00 ft: A catastropic flood never seen before inundates portions of the Canton infrastructure. The water treatment plant at Boling Park will be flooded. Some major and numerous primary roads...industrial buildings...businesses and a few homes will be flooded with 1 to 7 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded with several feet of water. Water reaches the USGS gage instrument shelf causing a loss of data.
30.00 ft: Flooding never seen before causes a catastropic flood which inundates portions of the infrastructure of Canton. The water treatment plant near Boling Park will be flooded. Some major and numerous primary roads...industrial buildings and businesses will be flooded with 1 to 5 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded with a few feet of water. There may be a data transmission loss at the gage.
28.00 ft: Flooding never seen before inundates all parks near the river in Canton with 7 to 12 feet of water. The flood waters up to 9 feet deep surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Numerous primary roads...industrial buildings and businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded.
27.00 ft: Record flooding inundates all recreational areas and parks near the river in Canton with 6 to 11 feet of water. The flood waters up to 8 feet deep surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Several primary roads...industrial buildings and numerous businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded with 1 to 2 feet of water. The rock foundation of a Georgia Power substation near the Waleska Street bridge floods. The railroad tracks in the city begin to flood.
26.00 ft: Major flooding begins. Widespread inundation flooding affects all recreational areas and parks near the river in Canton with 5 to 10 feet of water. The flood waters up to 7 feet deep will surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Several primary roads...industrial buildings and numerous businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded. The Georgia Power substation near the Waleska Street bridge will begin to flood. Flood waters will approach the railroad tracks in the city.
25.00 ft: Significant flooding expands in Canton. Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park are flooded with up to 9 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 6 feet deep around the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road are under 8 feet of water. Several buildings near the Canton Textile Plant are flooded with 2 feet of water and buildings along Railroad Street begin to flood.
23.00 ft: Significant flooding occurs along the river in Canton. Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park are flooded with up to 7 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 4 feet deep around the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road are under 6 feet of water. Several buildings near the Canton Textile Plant 1 begin to flood.
22.00 ft: Moderate flooding begins upstream and downstream from the Walaska Street bridge. Recreation areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to 6 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 3 feet deep around the base of the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road will be under 5 feet of water. Old Canton Textile Plant Number 1 begins to flood.
20.00 ft: Minor flooding expands further into the woodlands and fields upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Large portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to 4 feet of water. The flood waters will reach the base of the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road will be under 3 feet of water.
18.00 ft: Minor flooding expands into the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Large portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to two feet of water. The parking lot at Boling Park will be under one foot of water. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way Road begin to flood.
17.00 ft: Minor flooding continues in the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to one foot of water. The parking lot at Boling Park will begin to flood.
16.00 ft: Flood Stage is reached. Minor flooding begins in the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Low lying portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will begin to flood.
1.16 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: < 5 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	26.70 ft	January 7, 1946
2	26.30 ft	December 10, 1919
3	25.90 ft	July 10, 1916
4	25.33 ft	March 17, 1990
5	25.20 ft	December 22, 1918
6	25.20 ft	December 12, 1932
7	25.00 ft	January 1, 1892
8	24.70 ft	March 26, 1964
9	24.45 ft	February 3, 1982
10	24.38 ft	April 30, 1963

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

18 Sun 66° 44° – Wind 14 mph

19 Mon 72° 41° – Wind 9 mph

20 Tue 74° 47° – Wind 5 mph

21 Wed 77° 50° – Wind 5 mph

22 Thu 76° 49° – Wind 7 mph

23 Fri 75° 50° – Wind 7 mph

24 Sat 71° 51° – Wind 12 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:46 AM Sunset 07:01 PM Daylight 11 hr, 15 min First quarter 54%

Map

Other gauges on the Etowah River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Etowah River at GA 136, near LanddrumRiver gauge, Etowah River	1.37 ft	Low	±0	29 mi
Etowah River at GA 9, near DawsonvilleRiver gauge, Etowah River	3.53 ft	Low	−0.02 ft	23 mi
Etowah River at Kelly Bridge Road, near MattRiver gauge, Etowah River	0.99 ft	Low	−0.02 ft	18 mi
Etowah River at Allatoona Dam, above CartersvilleRiver gauge, Etowah River	1.21 ft	Very low	±0	15 mi
Etowah River at GA 61, near CartersvilleRiver gauge, Etowah River	4.79 ft	Low	+0.01 ft	21 mi
Etowah River near KingstonRiver gauge, Etowah River	3.35 ft	Very low	−0.02 ft	28 mi
Etowah River at GA 1 Loop, near RomeRiver gauge, Etowah River	12.66 ft	Very low	−0.69 ft	36 mi
Etowah River at Coosa Valley F.g., at RomeRiver gauge, Etowah River	4.13 ft	Very low	−1.36 ft	38 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Etowah River Downstream of I-575, at CantonRiver gauge, Etowah River Downstream of I-575,	1.75 ft	Low	−0.04 ft	1.6 mi
Hickory Log Creek near CantonRiver gauge, Hickory Log Creek	0.94 ft	Normal	±0	2.1 mi
Shoal Creek at GA 108, near WaleskaRiver gauge, Shoal Creek	2.07 ft	Very low	+0.01 ft	6.0 mi
Sharp Mountain Creek at Old GA 5, below Ball GroundRiver gauge, Sharp Mountain Creek	2.67 ft	Low	±0	7 mi
Little River at GA 5, near WoodstockRiver gauge, Little River	0.26 ft	Very low	−0.10 ft	8 mi
Noonday Creek at Shallowford Road, near WoodstockRiver gauge, Noonday Creek	1.30 ft	Low	−0.02 ft	12 mi
Noonday Creek at Hawkins Store Road, near WoodstockRiver gauge, Noonday Creek	0.54 ft	Very low	−0.02 ft	13 mi
Settingdown Creek near Ball GroundRiver gauge, Settingdown Creek	0.31 ft	Very low	−0.03 ft	14 mi

Questions and answers

Is the Etowah River at Canton higher than last year?

No, it is 0.10 ft lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 1.26 ft.

What is flood stage for the Etowah River at Canton?

The official flood stage is 16.00 ft. The level is currently 14.84 ft below it.

What is a normal level for the Etowah River at Canton in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.99 ft. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.33 ft and 3.26 ft, based on 78 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 Etowah River at Canton today?

On Oct 18, 2026, 07:15 PM EDT, the water level was 1.16 ft. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Etowah River at Canton rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 1.24 ft over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Etowah River at Canton normal?

Very low for mid-October. Compared with 78 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:02392000 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 34.24019, -84.49453 (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	1.16 ft	2026-10-18 23:15	Provisional
Flow	190 cfs	2026-10-18 23:15	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Etowah River at Canton (usgs:02392000). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/georgia/etowah-river-at-canton

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