Etowah River at Canton

1. 31.00 ftA catastropic flood never seen before inundates portions of the Canton infrastructure. The water treatment plant at Boling Park will be flooded. Some major and numerous primary roads...industrial buildings...businesses and a few homes will be flooded with 1 to 7 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded with several feet of water. Water reaches the USGS gage instrument shelf causing a loss of data.
2. 30.00 ftFlooding never seen before causes a catastropic flood which inundates portions of the infrastructure of Canton. The water treatment plant near Boling Park will be flooded. Some major and numerous primary roads...industrial buildings and businesses will be flooded with 1 to 5 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded with a few feet of water. There may be a data transmission loss at the gage.
3. 28.00 ftFlooding never seen before inundates all parks near the river in Canton with 7 to 12 feet of water. The flood waters up to 9 feet deep surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Numerous primary roads...industrial buildings and businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water. The Georgia Power substation and the USGS gage house near the Waleska Street bridge and the railroad tracks in the city will be flooded.
4. 27.00 ftRecord flooding inundates all recreational areas and parks near the river in Canton with 6 to 11 feet of water. The flood waters up to 8 feet deep surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Several primary roads...industrial buildings and numerous businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded with 1 to 2 feet of water. The rock foundation of a Georgia Power substation near the Waleska Street bridge floods. The railroad tracks in the city begin to flood.
5. 26.00 ftMajor flooding begins. Widespread inundation flooding affects all recreational areas and parks near the river in Canton with 5 to 10 feet of water. The flood waters up to 7 feet deep will surround the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Several primary roads...industrial buildings and numerous businesses including River Place Shopping Center will be flooded. The Georgia Power substation near the Waleska Street bridge will begin to flood. Flood waters will approach the railroad tracks in the city.
6. 25.00 ftSignificant flooding expands in Canton. Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park are flooded with up to 9 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 6 feet deep around the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road are under 8 feet of water. Several buildings near the Canton Textile Plant are flooded with 2 feet of water and buildings along Railroad Street begin to flood.
7. 23.00 ftSignificant flooding occurs along the river in Canton. Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park are flooded with up to 7 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 4 feet deep around the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road are under 6 feet of water. Several buildings near the Canton Textile Plant 1 begin to flood.
8. 22.00 ftModerate flooding begins upstream and downstream from the Walaska Street bridge. Recreation areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to 6 feet of water. The flood waters will be up to 3 feet deep around the base of the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road will be under 5 feet of water. Old Canton Textile Plant Number 1 begins to flood.
9. 20.00 ftMinor flooding expands further into the woodlands and fields upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Large portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to 4 feet of water. The flood waters will reach the base of the water treatment plant near Boling Park. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way road will be under 3 feet of water.
10. 18.00 ftMinor flooding expands into the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Large portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to two feet of water. The parking lot at Boling Park will be under one foot of water. Portions of the Mill Industrial Way Road begin to flood.
11. 17.00 ftMinor flooding continues in the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will be flooded with up to one foot of water. The parking lot at Boling Park will begin to flood.
12. 16.00 ftFlood Stage is reached. Minor flooding begins in the woodlands and fields along the river upstream and downstream from the gage by the Walaska Street bridge. Low lying portions of recreational areas such as Boling Park behind the Cherokee County High School...the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and the Etowah River Greenway at Heritage Park will begin to flood.
13. 15.00 ftBankfull conditions occur in the woodlands and fields along the river in the Canton area. Some flooding will begin in low lying and poor drainage areas.

Chance of flooding, September to November

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 15, 2026.

Most recent crests

• February 13, 2025: 20.96 ft
• September 27, 2024: 16.78 ft
• January 10, 2024: 17.72 ft
• January 5, 2023: 17.56 ft
• February 4, 2022: 17.02 ft
• March 26, 2021: 16.69 ft
• February 14, 2020: 16.74 ft
• February 12, 2020: 18.63 ft
• February 7, 2020: 20.02 ft
• April 20, 2019: 16.89 ft

• UpstreamEtowah River Downstream I-575 at Downstream I-575 at Canton
• DownstreamEtowah River at Allatoona Lake near Cartersville
• Hickory Log Creek at Canton
• Shoal Creek at GA 108 near Waleska
• Sharp Mountain Creek at Old GA 5 below Ball Ground
• Little River at GA 5 near Woodstock
• Noonday Creek at Shallowford River near Woodstock
• Long Swamp Creek at Nelson
• Noonday Creek at Hawkins Store Road near Blackwells

Forecasts by the Southeast River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. Automated gauge readings are now available, courtesy of the USGS. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.