Lee County gets new creek level gauges

LEESBURG — Two new creek level gauges were installed last week by the United States Geological Survey on the Kinchafoonee Creek at the Century Road Bridge and on Muckalee Creek at the Forrester Parkway Bridge. These gauges were previously approved by the Lee County Board of Commissioners in August of this year.

The two new gauges can be accessed on the web by typing the following in your browser: https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=tae&gage=kccg1 for the Kinchafoonee and https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=tae&gage=mufg1 for the Muckalee.

The gauges measure real-time flow, creek levels, and rainfall in the area. The data are then transmitted from USGS to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) – the National Weather Service’s online Advanced Hydrologic Predictive Service. In the next few days, the NWS also will add the flood level parameters for action, minor and major flood events from the new gauge readings and correlations with existing gauges along the waterways.

These new gauges are upgraded versions of the existing gauges in Lee County on the Kinchafoonee Creek at Pinewood Road and on the Muckalee Creek at Georgia Highway 195. The county signed a three-year contract with the USGS for the placement, monitoring, and maintenance of these gauges at a cost of approximately $7,100 per year, per each gauge.

The new gauges are downstream of the existing gauges and are much nearer the creek population centers in southern Lee County. The Forrester gauge is 12.66 creek miles downstream from the Georgia 195 gauge, and the Century gauge is 13.04 creek miles downstream from the Pinewood gauge.

Having two additional monitoring stations on the creeks will allow Emergency Management, Lee County citizens, and others to have additional knowledge of what the water will do during major storm events such as the one that occurred in March 2020. Per Deputy Emergency Management Agency Director Nikkie Celinsky, “Lee County EMA looks forward to be able to better serve the citizens of Lee County during high water situations.”

Although Lee County residents and businesses near the creek will most benefit from these additional sets of data, citizens in northern Dougherty County along the creeks and lakes also will be able to use these predictions to better understand potential flooding in these areas.

Marla Edmonds and her husband, Ryan, have property on the water in both Lee County and Dougherty County and fully understand the importance of have accurate information in case of flood potential.

“We appreciate having another set of gauges to look at to predict possible flood events,” Marla Edmonds said. “There are so many variables that can alter the flow, so the more data we have from these gauges, the better we can prepare.”

Special Photo: David Dixon