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Etowah River at Canton, GA

River level and flood forecast · Cherokee County

Normal2.0 ftas of Mon 4:15 PM

The river is 14.0 ft below flood stage (16 ft).

Forecast to fall to 1.1 ft by Sat, Oct 17, 8 AM.

Flow: 478 cubic feet per second (USGS).

The last 7 days and the forecast

-100102030TueThuSatMonWedFriAction 15 ftFlood 16 ftModerate 22 ftMajor 26 ftNowObserved (ft)NWS forecast

NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 9:38 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

Major flood stage26 ft
Moderate flood stage22 ft
Flood stage16 ft
Action stage15 ft
Record crest (January 7, 1946)26.7 ft

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

  • 31 ftA 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 ftFlooding 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 ftFlooding 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 ftRecord 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 ftMajor 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 ftSignificant 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 ftSignificant 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 ftModerate 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 ftMinor 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 ftMinor 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 ftMinor 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 ftFlood 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.
  • 15 ftBankfull conditions occur in the woodlands and fields along the river in the Canton area. Some flooding will begin in low lying and poor drainage areas.

Highest crests on record

  1. 26.7 ft — January 7, 1946
  2. 26.3 ft — December 10, 1919
  3. 25.9 ft — July 10, 1916
  4. 25.33 ft — March 17, 1990
  5. 25.2 ft — December 22, 1918

Recent crests: 20.96 ft (February 13, 2025) · 16.78 ft (September 27, 2024) · 17.72 ft (January 10, 2024) · 17.56 ft (January 5, 2023) · 17.02 ft (February 4, 2022)

Up and down the river, and nearby

See it on the live map →Radar & warnings for Cherokee CountyNWS gauge pageUSGS gauge 02392000

Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (CNNG1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.