Is the Colorado River flooding?
The Colorado River is tracked by 17 USGS streamgauges in Texas. This page compares each gauge’s live water level against its official National Weather Service flood stage, refreshed every 15 minutes, so you can tell whether the Colorado River is running normal, rising toward flood stage, or already flooding. 13 of 17 gauges have both a usable water-level reading and a published minor flood stage. Gauges without a published flood stage show water level and flow only. For nearby rivers, see all Texas river levels.
River facts
The longest-running gauge on this river is Colorado River near Bay City, TX. The highest level ever recorded there was 56.10 ft in July 1869. Peak records there go back to 1869 (87 annual peaks). It is currently at 2.40 ft, 53.7 ft below that record.
| Gauge | Status | Stage | Flood stage | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado River at Colorado City, TX | No flooding | 2.47 ft | 15 ft | |
| Colorado River above Silver, TX | No flooding | 1.26 ft | 15 ft | |
| Colorado River at Robert Lee, TX | No flooding | 0.83 ft | 33 ft | |
| Colorado River near Ballinger, TX | No flooding | 3.99 ft | 18 ft | |
| Colorado River near Stacy, TX | No flooding | 3.57 ft | 40 ft | |
| Colorado River near San Saba, TX | No flooding | 1.98 ft | 30 ft | |
| Colorado River at Austin, TX | No flooding | 14.64 ft | 33 ft | |
| Colorado River at Bastrop, TX | No flooding | 3.61 ft | 23 ft | |
| Colorado River at Smithville, TX | No flooding | 2.38 ft | 20 ft | |
| Colorado River above La Grange, TX | No flooding | 4.00 ft | 26 ft | |
| Colorado River at Columbus, TX | No flooding | 10.15 ft | 34 ft | |
| Colorado River at Wharton, TX | No flooding | 8.14 ft | 39 ft | |
| Colorado River near Bay City, TX | No flooding | 2.40 ft | 44 ft | |
| Colorado River near Cuthbert, TX | No current data | — | — | — |
| Colorado River at Winchell, TX | No current data | — | 26 ft | — |
| Colorado River near Gail, TX | No flood stage defined | 0.16 ft | — | |
| Colorado River at Hwy 350 near Ira, TX | No flood stage defined | 7.42 ft | — |
About the Colorado River
Texas has its own Colorado River, unrelated to the one that carved the Grand Canyon. It rises on the Llano Estacado, crosses the Hill Country through Austin, and reaches the Gulf near Matagorda Bay. Through the Austin reach it is one of the most intensively managed rivers in the state.
The Highland Lakes
The chain of dams and reservoirs upstream of Austin — the Highland Lakes, operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority — was built substantially for flood control and water supply, with Mansfield Dam impounding Lake Travis as the primary flood-control structure.
This system absorbs a great deal of runoff before it reaches Austin, and it means the river's behaviour in the city is governed by reservoir operations as much as by weather. Announced releases can raise the river substantially with no rain falling locally.
Hill Country inflows
The tributaries feeding the Highland Lakes drain the same limestone Hill Country terrain that makes the Guadalupe and Llano so flashy. Inflows to the lakes can be extraordinarily fast even when the mainstem below the dams stays controlled.
That split personality is the key to reading this river: the reach above the reservoirs behaves like a flash-flood river, and the reach below behaves like a regulated one.
Reading this river
Check whether the gauge you are looking at sits above or below the Highland Lakes. Above the dams, treat rapid rises as you would on any Hill Country stream. Below them, a rise is more likely to reflect a managed release.
The LCRA publishes river and reservoir operations information for this system, which is the authoritative source for planned releases.