Harpeth River near Kingston Springs, TN Flow & Water Level

NWS river forecast

Forecast from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Issued a few times a day and only while a forecast is active. Not for navigation.

Last 30 days

About this gauge

USGS gauge 03434500 sits on the Harpeth River and reads everything draining 683 square miles of the Harpeth basin. Only 667 square miles of that contributes flow in a normal year; the rest is closed basin that does not drain to the river. Its datum sits 448 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1925, 101 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Harpeth River at Bellevue, TN, reading 409 square miles. This gauge adds the 274 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cheatham Reservoir near Ashland City, TN at 14,159 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 5% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Cumberland River below Cheatham Dam, TN.

Normal flows here

The Harpeth River runs a median of 342 cfs at this gauge across 101 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,240 cfs, and September the leanest at 104 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 55,000 cfs in 2010, and the lowest is 16 cfs in 1939.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1925 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Harpeth River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 20 feet. NWS starts watching it at 18 feet. The highest crest on record is 46 feet, in May 2010.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge KINT1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Cheatham Dam is 15 miles from this gauge on the Cumberland system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Cheatham Dam 15 miles