Low flow/high flow at Peachtree Creek at Atlanta, Ga. (USGS 02336300)

What a typical flood on Peachtree Creek looks like is shown below in a "before and after" picture from the homeowner's now 10-foot high entryway. The flood picture was taken on May 6, 2003 in the late afternoon when stream stage was about 17 feet. Peak stage that day occurred at 7:30 PM EST in the evening, when the stream stage reached 17.77 feet with a corresponding instantaneous streamflow of 6,960 cubic feet per second (cfs). Alternatively, base flow at Peachtree Creek (left picture) is around 2. 5 feet, with a streamflow of about 25 cfs. 

Some of the houses on the street bordering Peachtree Creek were built before much of the land area upstream of this site was covered in impervious material (pavement, roads, etc). More impervious surfaces is a cause for higher flood levels during very heavy rains and these houses experienced flooded households multiple times. The result is that many of the houses were actually raised up on stilts, meaning the homeowners have to climb 10 feet of stairs to get to their front doors .... but at least their first-floor furniture stays dry.

• Live RiverCam of Peachtree Creek