Etowah River at GA 9 near Dawsonville, GA
River level and flood forecast · Dawson County
Normal4.0 ftas of Mon 3 PM
The river is 9.0 ft below flood stage (13 ft).
Forecast to fall to 3.7 ft by Thu, Oct 15, 2 PM.
Flow: 116 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 9:38 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 21 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 16 ft |
| Flood stage | 13 ft |
| Action stage | 11 ft |
| Record crest (January 7, 1946) | 16.2 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 21 ftMajor flooding occurs. Highway 9 goes underwater in low areas in south Dawson County and Nicholson and Old Federal Roads are closed in northwest Forsyth County to residents.
- 16 ftModerate flood begins in south Dawson county and continues in northwest Forsyth county. Widespread flooding of pasture land and horse stables occur. Old Federal and Nicholson Roads are closed in northwest Forsyth county.
- 14 ftModerate flooding begins in northwest Forsyth county. Old Federal Road begins to flood and Nicholson Road is closed off to residents. Minor flooding continues in south Dawson county.
- 13 ftFlood Stage is reached and minor flooding begins in south Dawson county. Minor flooding continues on Nicholson Road in northwest Forsyth county. The water will be around one foot deep on the road.
- 12 ftMinor flooding of Nicholson Road in northwest Forsyth county begins.
- 11 ftBankfull is reached on the river in south Dawson county. Some minor flooding begins in pasture lands of northwest Forsyth county and water approaches low areas of Nicholson Road.
Highest crests on record
- 16.2 ft — January 7, 1946
- 16.03 ft — January 16, 1954
- 15.9 ft — May 19, 2013
- 15.78 ft — September 17, 2004
- 15.72 ft — March 11, 1952
Recent crests: 13.8 ft (January 11, 2026) · 14.48 ft (February 13, 2025) · 14.12 ft (January 10, 2024) · 14.1 ft (February 4, 2022) · 14.27 ft (March 27, 2021)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- UpstreamEtowah River at GA 136 near Landrum, GA
- DownstreamEtowah River Downstream I-575 at Canton, GA
- Etowah River 0.2 mi downstream GA 53 near Dawsonville, GA
- Russell Creek (GA) at 0.3 miles downstream of Head Lake near Dawsonville, GA
- Etowah River at Kelly Bridge Road near Matt, GA
- Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville, GA
- Settingdown Creek near Ball Ground, GA
- Chattahoochee River at Buford Dam near Buford, GA
- Big Creek at GA 9 near Cumming, GA
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (DWSG1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.