Ouachita River at Camden, AR
River level and flood forecast · Ouachita County
The river is 19.8 ft below flood stage (26 ft).
Forecast to rise to 6.7 ft Fri 1 PM, below the 26 ft flood stage.
Flow: 1,450 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 10:24 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 40 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 36 ft |
| Flood stage | 26 ft |
| Action stage | 25.5 ft |
| Record crest (May 5, 1958) | 43.87 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 46 ftFlood of record, high water marks from flood of May 1882 were approximately at a stage of 46 feet.
- 45 ftVery serious flooding at this level, many structures and roads flooding. A crest of 44.8 feet occurred at Camden in April 1945.
- 42.5 ftResidential flooding is occurring in portions of Ouachita and Calhoun counties, with numerous road closures. The river crested near this stage in April 2025.
- 40 ftMajor flooding begins at this level. Widespread residential flooding is possible in the Camden vicinity and downstream. Much of the low lying areas along the river in Ouachita and Calhoun counties will be flooded. Access to many homes will be by boat.
- 38 ftMany homes along the river and Oxbow Lakes are accessable by boat only. Portions of Harmony Grove and the lakeside community are flooding.
- 36 ftModerate flooding begins at this level. Access roads to commercial, industrial, and residential development are flooding. Access to locations along the river downstream of Camden, by boat only.
- 34 ftOverbank flooding closes many roads. Harmony Grove community has flood problems at this stage. Many low lying roads are flooding with access to some residential areas by boat only.
- 30 ftState Highway 7 north of Camden floods, with detours nearby. Portions of Sandy Beach Park will flood. Some county roads north and east of Camden begin to flood.
- 28 ftSandy Beach Park and portions of the Riverwalk area off of Washington Street are inundated. State Highway 7 off 79B becomes inundated.
- 26 ftLow lying pastures and timber land along the river begins to flood. Sandy Beach Park at Camden starts to flood.
Highest crests on record
- 43.87 ft — May 5, 1958
- 43.08 ft — May 17, 1968
- 42.5 ft — December 29, 1987
- 42.29 ft — April 9, 2025
- 41.29 ft — February 26, 2018
Recent crests: 42.29 ft (April 9, 2025) · 28.36 ft (January 1, 2025) · 30.1 ft (May 28, 2024) · 31.03 ft (April 14, 2024) · 28.38 ft (February 15, 2024)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (CAMA4); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.