Watching the river stage reports over the past few days made me wonder -- just what does that figure mean? If the Amite River at Denham Springs is at 42', does that refer to distance about sea level, depth of water at that point, or some other metric?
River stage figures
- Thread starter PPBart
- Start date
The Best online firearms community in Louisiana.
Member Benefits:
Fewer Ads! Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership Discuss anti-gun legislation Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses Discover free outdoor shooting areas View up to date on firearm-related events Share photos & video with other members ...and so much more!
Member Benefits:
The exact depth at that exact location. Allot of the devices stopped working last weekend because the current damaged them. I think that's what caused it anyways.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the info! Seems a bit odd though that we don't look at the height above MSL -- IMO that would be more useful info, especially if one is trying to assess the risk of some other point (e.g., their house) not immediately near the river getting flooded. And with current technology, determining elevation should be pretty easy. Just my thoughts...
If you zoom in to a spot on Google earth wherever the pointer is the elevation will be shone in the lower right corner of the screen. It is quite accurate, even to the difference between the height of a building to the surrounding ground. If I put the pointer on my front yard elevation is 10' if I move to the peak of my roof it is 22', my roof is 12' to the peak.
Oh I'm sure FEMA is remapping flood zones for the lower half of the state as we speak.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There's quite a bit that goes into the reference 0 river stage. They look at the complete water shed, consider the navigational characteristics of the river, several other things, and sometimes even send it for comment. Ultimately it is simply a reference and that is why it is important to understand the reference and how the changes in the river height might impact you should you live near a waterway. Flood stage is the most important number and is defined: the water level, as read by a stream gauge or tide gauge, for a body of water at a particular location, measured from the level at which a body of water threatens lives, property, commerce, or travel. The term "at flood stage" is commonly used to describe the point at which this occurs. Pay attention to the flood stage and know how your property was affected in the past by various flood stage levels.
I somewhat have to deal with levels on occasion.
There are two figures used and different bodies of water uses different figures.
One is ASL or above sea level. This is the most commonly used since rivers will change depths due to sanding up. The Red River is measured this way.
The other is AWD or actual water depth or AGL above ground level.. This is seldom used on swift moving water since,as stated above, sandy bottoms shift daily. It is mostly used on lakes. Cross Lake, Lake BIstineau is measured this way
There are two figures used and different bodies of water uses different figures.
One is ASL or above sea level. This is the most commonly used since rivers will change depths due to sanding up. The Red River is measured this way.
The other is AWD or actual water depth or AGL above ground level.. This is seldom used on swift moving water since,as stated above, sandy bottoms shift daily. It is mostly used on lakes. Cross Lake, Lake BIstineau is measured this way
Last edited:
Seems to be some conflict between this and post #2...(?)
Last edited:
Like most government system, it makes no sense. Some bodies of water are measured at a specific point that gives an arbitrary depth (in Shreveport, the Red River is measured at one bridge piling) while the Cross Lake reservoir is measured at mean sea level (msl). There is no correlation between the two.
