Sweetwater Creek at Brownsville Road near Powder Springs, GA
River level and flood forecast · Cobb County
Normal4.4 ftas of Mon 3:45 PM
The river is 8.6 ft below flood stage (13 ft).
Flow: 117 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 7 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 25 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 20 ft |
| Flood stage | 13 ft |
| Action stage | 10 ft |
| Record crest (September 21, 2009) | 31.45 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 32 ftRecord flooding causes widespread inundation of the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around 10 feet deep over portions of the road and will have topped the bridge with 4 feet of water. The water level will be around 3 feet deep in a house on the downstream and right bank of the creek. The USGS gage house will be under water. This flooding will be worse than September 2009.
- 31 ftNear record flooding expands further with widespread inundation of the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around 9 feet deep over portions of the road and will have topped the bridge with 3 feet of water. The water level will be around two feet deep in a house on the downstream and right bank of the creek. The USGS gage house will be under water. This flooding will be similar to the September 2009 major flood event.
- 29 ftMajor flooding expands with widespread inundation of the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around 7 feet deep over portions of the road and will have topped the bridge with one foot of water. The water level will reach the floor level of a house on the downstream and right bank of the creek and inundate the USGS gage house. This will likely affect the data transmission.
- 28 ftMajor flooding continues with widespread inundation of the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around 6 feet deep over portions of the road just northeast of the bridge. The bridge will be topped with the water level reaching the crawl space of a house on the downstream and right bank of the creek. The water level will also be close to the bottom of the USGS gage house which may affect the data transmission.
- 25 ftMajor flooding begins. Widespread inundation flooding occurs in the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around 3 feet deep over portions of the road just northeast of the bridge. The water level will likely cause extensive erosion to the banks as the water flow hits the bridge. County officials will have the road and bridge closed.
- 24 ftSignificant flooding expands much further into the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will be around two feet deep over portions of the road just northeast of the bridge. The water level will likely cause extensive erosion to the banks as the water flow hits the bridge. County officials will have the road and bridge closed.
- 22 ftSignificant flooding continues to expand further into the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. Flood waters will begin to flow over portions of the road just northeast of the bridge. Also the water level will likely cause extensive erosion to the banks as the water flow hits the bridge. County officials will likely close the road and bridge.
- 21 ftSignificant flooding expands further into the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. The water level will likely cause extensive erosion to the banks as the water flow hits the bridge. County officials may close the bridge.
- 20 ftModerate flooding begins. Significant flooding will expand into the woodlands...fields and pastures upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road. The water level will be close to the bottom of the bridge.
- 18 ftMinor flooding continues to expand further into the woodlands...fields and pastures along the creek upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road.
- 15 ftMinor flooding continues in the woodlands...fields and pastures along the creek upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road.
- 13 ftFlood stage is reached. Minor flooding will occur in the woodlands...fields and pastures of the natural flood plain upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road.
- 10 ftBankfull conditions are reached along the creek upstream and downstream from the gage at Brownsville Road.
Highest crests on record
- 31.45 ft — September 21, 2009
- 15.53 ft — September 27, 2024
- 15.35 ft — November 11, 2009
- 14.56 ft — May 5, 2021
- 14.44 ft — October 12, 2018
Recent crests: 14.26 ft (February 13, 2025) · 15.53 ft (September 27, 2024) · 13.74 ft (January 26, 2024) · 13.91 ft (January 10, 2024) · 13.66 ft (December 31, 2021)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- DownstreamSweetwater Creek near Northwest Austell, GA
- Powder Springs Creek near Powder Springs, GA
- Noses Creek at Powder Springs Road near Powder Springs, GA
- Olley Creek at Clay Road near Austell, GA
- Sweetwater Creek near Austell, GA
- Sweetwater Creek below Austell, GA
- Utoy Creek at Great Southwest Parkway near Atlanta, GA
- Nickajack Creek at US Highway 78 and 278 near Mableton, GA
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (PDSG1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.