Demonstrating the Current Meter

The floodwaters from Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri are making their way downstream now to Mississippi and Louisiana. In preparation, USGS scientist Glen Stevens demonstrates the current meter to Hannah Hamilton, also with USGS. The current meter is one of the two primary ways that USGS measures streamflow discharge. Here, Stevens is preparing to measure the discharge of the water flowing through the Bonnet Carre Spillway, just west of New Orleans, on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Learn more about how USGS measures streamflow here:http://water.usgs.gov/edu/streamflow2.html

In late 2015/early 2016 unusually large rainfall in the Upper Mississippi River Valley led to significant flooding in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. USGS crews responded to the flooding by collecting streamflow and water quality information and providing it to emergency responders.