Current River and Stream Conditions

Today's Flood Threat
This page provides information about current conditions along the Sacramento County reaches of the American and Sacramento Rivers. Information on water levels in local creeks and streams and Sacramento precipitation is available from http://www.sacflood.org/sensdata/strmgrp.htm.

American River Conditions
As shown in the map to the right, Sacramento's flood threat centers along the lower reaches of the American River where flows are confined by levees. River flow rate is controlled by Folsom Dam. During the flood season (November through March) at least 400,000 acre feet of reservoir storage capacity is emptied to provide space to store inflow in excess of the capacity of downstream levees (115,000 cfs).

Flood Storage Space Available in AF
Current 10/12/2008 4:00:00 PM	Required
716,730	270,500

Sacramento River Conditions

Monitor Stage - The Stage at which patrol of flood control project levees by the responsible levee maintaining agency becomes mandatory, or the Stage at which flow occurs into bypass areas from project overflow weirs.
Project Flood Stage - The Stage at which the flow in a flood control project is at maximum design capacity (U.S. Corps of Engineers "Project Flood Plain"). At this level there is a minimum freeboard of 3 feet to the top of levees.
Danger Stage - The Stage at which the flow in a flood control project is greater than maximum design capacity and where there is extreme danger with threat of significant hazard to life and property in the event of levee failure. This is generally 1 foot above project flood stage.
Flood Stage - The Stage at which overbank flows are of sufficient magnitude to cause considerable inundation of land and roads and/or threat of significant hazard to life and property.