Cartecay River water level: the gauge, flows and flood stages

The Cartecay River’s water level is measured at USGS gauge 02379500, “Cartecay River near Ellijay, GA,” in Gilmer County, Georgia (USGS). The card below shows its latest reading. USGS readings are provisional and can be revised.

What cfs and feet mean

The card gives two numbers. Discharge, in cubic feet per second (cfs), is how much water is passing the gauge. Gage height, in feet, is the height of the water surface on the gauge’s own scale. It isn’t the depth of the river, so a reading of 1.5 feet doesn’t mean you can stand in 1.5 feet of water. Flow tells you how much river there is. Gage height is the number American Whitewater and the National Weather Service quote for paddling ranges and flood stages.

Where the gauge is, and how far back it goes

American Whitewater puts the gauge at the East Ellijay city limits on Highway 52, about a quarter mile east of the Highway 515 bridge (American Whitewater). That is near mile 17.3 on the profile we measured for this guide, downstream of the tubing and whitewater stretches. USGS lists 134 square miles of drainage above it (USGS).

Daily flow records begin on March 17, 1937 (USGS). The current 15-minute record began on April 22, 2009, and USGS annual statistics show no data for 1977 through 2009, a gap of about three decades. The National Weather Service uses the same gauge, under the ID EECG1, for its flood categories. Just below town, USGS gauge 02380500 on the Coosawattee measures the Cartecay and Ellijay rivers combined (USGS). The Ellijay River has no live gauge of its own today (USGS).

Typical flow by month

The table gives the USGS median of each month’s mean daily flow, from approved data covering 57 to 59 years (USGS). It describes a typical month, not a forecast.

March and April run highest, at 372.5 and 372 cfs (USGS). In the main tubing months the medians fall from 241.5 cfs in June to 190 in July and 164 in August. September (129) and October (125) are the lowest of the year (USGS). The planner below lines each month’s flow up with the rental season, DNR’s trout stocking, apple season and the weather.

Paddling ranges, per American Whitewater

American Whitewater lists a recommended range of 1.8 to 6 feet on this gauge for the Middle Cartecay (American Whitewater) and 2.2 to 6 feet for the Lower Cartecay (American Whitewater). It says that at 2.4 feet or more it is worth continuing past the Mulkey Road take-out to the DNR take-out (American Whitewater). AW also cautions that the gauge is downriver of the Lower Cartecay, so it matters whether the level is rising or falling (American Whitewater). These are AW’s ranges for whitewater boaters. A reading inside them is no guarantee, and whether a rental trip runs on a given day is the outfitter’s call.

Flood stages, per the National Weather Service

NWS flood categories for the Cartecay gauge (NOAA/NWS):

NWS says bankfull conditions are reached at a 6-foot stage (NOAA/NWS), the same as its action stage and the top of AW’s paddling ranges.

The biggest flood on record at the gauge was 20,000 cfs at a 13.00-foot stage on April 8, 1938, which USGS notes was the highest since 1886 (USGS). NWS lists the second-highest stage as 11.08 feet, on December 24, 2015 (NOAA/NWS).

High water and hazards

NWS warns that just 6 inches of fast-moving floodwater can knock over an adult (NWS). On the Middle Cartecay, American Whitewater warns that the river-right eddy at Whirlpool almost always holds wood, strainers or other debris (American Whitewater). AW also says S-Turn becomes Class III at 4 to 6 feet, and that Whirlpool and Blackberry Falls become Class III/III+ above 4 feet. Every paddler in Georgia needs a wearable life jacket, and children under 13 must wear one while the boat is under way (GA eRegulations).

Our article on what the Cartecay River gauge number means walks through a reading step by step. For trip planning, see tubing, kayaking and paddling and plan your visit.

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