Cedar River at Waterloo, IA
River level and flood forecast · Black Hawk County
Normal7.1 ftas of Mon 2 PM
The river is 5.9 ft below flood stage (13 ft).
Flow: 5,370 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Wed, Oct 7, 4:56 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 21 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 19 ft |
| Flood stage | 13 ft |
| Action stage | 8.5 ft |
| Record crest (June 11, 2008) | 27.01 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 30 ftThis is the height of the Waterloo levee design protection.
- 26 ftSandbagging is necessary at Fairview Cemetery.
- 25 ftThe 18th St bridge is closed. Levee gates are also closed throughout the downtown area of Waterloo.
- 24 ftThe following bridges are closed...Westfield Ave...E 6th St and W 6th St railroad...11th St as well as Park Ave.
- 18 ftThe access road to wastewater treatment plant is closed.
- 17 ftMany storm sewers are closed along the Cedar River.
- 16 ftThe Riverview Recreation Area is closed.
- 13 ftMany storm sewers are closed along Black Hawk Creek and the Cedar River. The Fletcher Ave levee gates are closed.
- 10 ftStorm sewers are closed behind the Cattle Congress.
Highest crests on record
- 27.01 ft — June 11, 2008
- 22.95 ft — September 24, 2016
- 21.86 ft — March 29, 1961
- 21.67 ft — April 8, 1965
- 20.78 ft — July 23, 1999
Recent crests: 12.9 ft (July 13, 2026) · 12.51 ft (August 2, 2025) · 15.69 ft (June 26, 2024) · 11.64 ft (March 2, 2023) · 9.14 ft (June 18, 2022)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (ALOI4); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.