Big Blue River near Manhattan, KS

Riley County, Kansas · USGS gauge 06887000 · NWS MNTK1 · Big Blue River flood status · Kansas river levels

Nearby: river levels near Manhattan

Is Big Blue River near Manhattan, KS flooding right now?

Big Blue River near Manhattan, KS measured 1.23 ft on 2026-09-11 01:00:00 UTC. That observation was 17.8 ft below its 19 ft flood stage. This is the latest available reading, not a guarantee of current conditions.

Gauge height
1.23 ft
as of 78 min ago
Streamflow
501 cfs
data refreshed 1 min ago

Minor flooding here begins at 19 ft, with major flooding at 30 ft. The highest crest on record was 36.04 ft on Thu, Jul 12, 1951.

Streamflow outlook

NOAA National Water Model forecast, issued 14 hours ago. The NWM models discharge for every river reach in the country, including the many gauges the National Weather Service does not forecast individually. It is a model, not an official NWS river forecast, and it predicts flow rather than water level.

Flood stages at this gauge

CategoryStageCurrent distance
Action15 ft13.8 ft below
Minor flood19 ft17.8 ft below
Moderate flood27 ft25.8 ft below
Major flood30 ft28.8 ft below

New to these numbers? What does flood stage mean? · How to read a river gauge · Why is the river rising?

Highest crests on record

StageDate
36.04 ft1951-07-12
32.71 ft1993-07-23
22.41 ft2019-06-01
19.76 ft2019-07-19
19.28 ft1992-08-07

Nearby gauges

GaugeDistanceCounty
Wildcat C at Seth Childs Rd, Manhattan, KS4.2 miRiley County
Kansas River at Manhattan, KS4.4 miRiley County
Wildcat C at Scenic Drive, Manhattan, KS5.1 miRiley County
Wildcat C at Keats, KS7.5 miRiley County
Kings C near Manhattan, KS9.4 miRiley County
Provisional data: Real-time readings are provisional and subject to revision by the USGS — sensors can be affected by ice, debris, or equipment malfunction. Do not rely on this site for decisions involving personal safety; follow official guidance from the National Weather Service and local authorities.

Sources: USGS monitoring location · NWS gauge & forecast