Flood Stage Lines Explained

What are the Flood Stage Lines?

During a storm, the creek will rise to a “peak” and then fall. The “peak flow” is the highest flow (and normally also the highest level or stage) the creek water rises to during the storm. Sometimes we say the creek will “crest” or has “crested” — same thing as “peak” or “peaked”.

The Flood Stage Lines on the stream stage plots are the stages (heights) at which we can expect flooding in the certain areas along the creek. The Flood Stage Lines on most of the plots are labeled “Draft” or “Sample” since we are still in the process of performing the research and engineering calculations to determine those stages. Your feedback will really help us to hone in on the actual flood stages for our gauges.

“Stage” is usually in feet and can be the elevation from sea level (like the Marsh Creek Reservoir) or an arbitrary elevation not relative to sea level or the bottom of the creek.