Here you'll find information on New York's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. You'll also find information about groundwater, water quality, and many other topics. The USGS New York Water Science Center operates the most extensive satellite network of stream- and tide-gaging stations in the state, many of which form the backbone of flood-warning systems. The USGS provides current ("real-time") stream stage and surface-water, water-quality, and groundwater levels for over 300 sites in New York.

For emergency situations, please contact Gary Firda, Surface Water Specialist at the USGS New York Water Science Center or call our general number (518) 285-5600 and follow the directions to leave voicemail which will be immediately forwarded to a responsible party and responded to as quickly as possible.

June 28 Flooding -- Central New York

• The USGS streamgage on the West Canada Creek at Kast Bridge (01346000) recorded a peak discharge of 25,300 cubic feet per second - the highest recorded discharge at the site since the construction of Hinckley Reservoir in 1914. A provisional estimate of the annual exceedance probability corresponding to this peak is 0.5% (200 year flood), however, the uncertainty for this statistic is large, and in general, a 66.7% confidence interval for the true exceedance probability extends from 1.9% to 0.2%.
• High water marks are being surveyed along Otsquago Creek in Fort Plain to document the flooding in that community and estimate the peak discharge of the event. The peak discharge data, along with historic records from a former USGS streamgage in Fort Plain, will assist engineers and planners redesign and repair damaged infrastructure.
  The former streamgage on Otsquago Creek at Fort Plain, NY was operated from October 1949 to September 1989 and during that period the maximum recorded stage and associated discharge of 12.24 feet and 10,400 ft3/s occurred on Oct. 28, 1981. High-water marks obtained at the former streamgage on July 2 for the June 28, 2013 event surveyed at 19.60 feet and a preliminary estimate of the associated discharge is 28,000 ft3/s.
• The Oneida Creek at Oneida, NY streamgage has been in operation since October 1949 and the maximum recorded stage during its period of operation was 15.55 feet on Sept. 8, 2011. On June 28, 2013, a new record peak stage of 17.23 feet was recorded. High-water marks are currently being surveyed to determine the amount of flow that overtopped the levees upstream and downstream of the streamgage and will be used to help determine the peak discharge that occurred during this event.

Oneida Creek flooding pictures

NOTICE May 1, 2013 -- Funding dropped for USGS monitoring network in the five boroughs of New York City.
Data collection from 197 groundwater stations, 10 surface-water stations, 1 meteorological station, and 131 water-quality stations in the five boroughs of New York and extreme western Nassau County was suspended May 1, 2013 due to elimination of the program by a funding partner. Historic data from these stations will continue to be available on the USGS National Water Information System: Web Interface. A complete list of stations to be discontinued is available at: real-time water data page or map.

For more information or to help support these sites please contact Ron Busciolano (rjbuscio@usgs.gov) or Stephen Terracciano (saterrac@usgs.gov) at the USGS New York Water Science Center, Coram Program Office at 631-736-0783 or at the emails listed above.

Hurricane Sandy Information