Blanchard River at Ottawa, OH
River level and flood forecast · Putnam County
Normal4.7 ftas of Mon 4:30 PM
The river is 18.3 ft below flood stage (23 ft).
Forecast to hold near 4.7 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 8 AM.
Flow: 24 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 11:01 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 30 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 27 ft |
| Flood stage | 23 ft |
| Action stage | 20 ft |
| Record crest (March 25, 1913) | 33.3 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 29 ftWidespread major flooding occurs throughout downtown Ottawa.
- 27 ftFlooding worsens on the south side of Ottawa, with water on several roads. Flooding also begins in other areas of Ottawa.
- 26.6 ftFlood water begins to hit the bottom of the bridge at the gage site.
- 25 ftFlooding begins along south Walnut and west Second Streets on the south side of Ottawa.
- 23 ftLowland flooding occurs mainly in south Ottawa. Flood water also gets into low farmlands.
Highest crests on record
- 33.3 ft — March 25, 1913
- 31.4 ft — August 23, 2007
- 29.75 ft — June 15, 1981
- 29.72 ft — February 11, 1959
- 29.29 ft — February 7, 2008
Recent crests: 23.8 ft (May 11, 2021) · 25.17 ft (May 20, 2020) · 25.32 ft (April 27, 2019) · 22.23 ft (February 22, 2018) · 27.55 ft (July 15, 2017)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (OTTO1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.