South River at Klondike Road, near Lithonia, GA Water Level Today

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 02204070 sits on the South River and reads everything draining 182 square miles of the Upper Ocmulgee basin. Its datum sits 661 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1984, 42 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is South River at Flakes Mill Road near Atlanta, GA, reading 99 square miles. This gauge adds the 83 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from South River at GA 81, at Snapping Shoals, GA at 468 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 39% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Ocmulgee River near Jackson, GA. It then enters Jackson Lake Lloyd Shoals near Jackson, GA, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The South River runs a median of 174 cfs at this gauge across 42 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 263 cfs, and September the leanest at 120 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 14,400 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 48 cfs in 1988.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1984 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The South River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 12 feet. NWS starts watching it at 10 feet. The highest crest on record is 15.4 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SOUG1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.