New USGS Streamgages Bolster Protection of Hoosier Lives, Property

In Greenfield, the new USGS streamgage is located on Brandywine Creek while the Elwood streamgage is located on Big Duck Creek. Information from these streamgages will be transmitted hourly for use in local flood forecast models, to support decisions by local emergency managers for road closures and allow residents to monitor conditions from their homes at any time. Funding for these gages is provided in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Data from both gages and more than 200 others operated across the state by the USGS are publically available in near real-time at the USGS Indiana Water Science Center website. 

For more than 125 years, the USGS has monitored flow in selected streams and rivers across the U.S. The information is routinely used for water supply and management, monitoring floods and droughts, bridge and road design, determination of flood risk and for recreational activities.  The more than 200 USGS-operated streamgages across Indiana measure water levels, streamflow, water quality and rainfall. Agencies such as the National Weather Service in particular, rely on USGS streamgage data to develop and refine their flood forecasts. These forecasts are critical in warning local communities during periods of potential and imminent flooding. 

Receive instant, personalized updates from any streamgage in Indiana or around the country via text message or email by signing up for USGS WaterAlert.