Catawba River level at Cowans Ford
North Carolina · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 0214264790 — CATAWBA R AT RR BRIDGE AB NC 73 AT COWANS FORD, NC
Reading taken · as of 28 min ago
Below normal — good wading, low and clear
At 3.49 ft, this gauge is in the lowest quarter of the 10 years USGS has recorded for this date (2016–2026), against a 3.9 ft median.
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Flow history at Cowans Ford
Daily values from USGS 0214264790, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About Catawba River at Cowans Ford
In North Carolina, below Lake Norman. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lake Norman. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Catawba River at Cowans Ford — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lake Norman affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Catawba River at Cowans Ford high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median gage height for late September here is 3.9 ft, from 10 years of record (2016–2026). Today sits in the lowest quarter of those years. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 0214264790 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.