Crests

Flood Stage: Enter the flood stage in feet.

Action Stage: The stage at which the hydrology situation along a river/stream requires additional attention.

Bankfull Stage: An established river stage at a certain point along a river. This stage is intended to represent the maximum safe water level which will not overflow the river banks or cause any significant damage within the reach of the river.

Flood Flow: Enter the flow in cubic feet per second (CFS) at flood stage. Some gages have a flood flow defined instead of a flood stage, in this case, enter the flood flow. This entry will change when the rating table changes.

NOTE: Final flood stage, action stage, and bankfull stage, are usually collaborated with other agencies, emergency managers, and local officials.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This section highlights various high water crests at or near the gage site.

Date of Crest: This is the date that the crest occurred. If the exact month or day of the month is unknown, enter a value of one in its place. This should be noted in the remarks section for clarification.

Time (LST): Enter the time that the crest occurred.

Crest (feet): Enter the stage of the crest.

Flow (cfs): Enter the peak flow of the river or stream.

From Survey: If the crest was determined by surveying high water marks, then mark this column with an X - otherwise leave blank.

Old Datum: Place an X in the column if the crest was based on a zero datum which is no longer valid - otherwise leave blank.

Caused by Jam: If the crest was caused by ice jamming, mark with an X - otherwise leave blank.

Preliminary Crest: Place an X in the column if the crest entered is a preliminary value - otherwise leave blank.

Remarks: Any additional remarks about the crest should be entered in this section.

NOTE: For USGS stations, the primary source of crest information should be a USGS source (either a publication, or direct contact with a USGS data manager) - other sources of information should not be considered official.