Set Up Creek Flood Alerts: Using Chester County's Stream Gauge Tool

Chester County's Water Resources Authority runs a free Flood Tool that tracks 19 USGS stream gauges and can send you a text or email when a creek rises. To use it, open the tool from the county's water maps page, pick the gauge closest to and upstream of your home, and subscribe to alerts before the next storm.

By West Chester Flood Cleanup Editorial Team · Published 2026-11-05

A few minutes of setup can give you warning time to move cars, raise belongings and check your sump pump before water arrives.

What the CCWRA Flood Tool shows

The Chester County Water Resources Authority (CCWRA) offers the Flood Tool through the county's online water maps gallery (chesco.org water maps). According to the county, it covers 19 USGS stream gauges across Chester County and offers text and email alerts.

At each gauge you can typically see:

• Current water level (stage) in feet, updated from the U.S. Geological Survey's real-time network
• Recent trend, so you can tell whether the creek is rising, cresting or falling
• Flow, the volume of water moving past the gauge
• Reference levels where available, showing when water starts to cause problems

The underlying data comes from USGS, which publishes the same gauge readings on its national water data site. The county tool puts the Chester County gauges together on one map.

If you have trouble with the tool, the CCWRA can be reached at 610-344-5400 (chesco.org FEMA Floodplains).

Picking the gauge nearest you

The closest gauge isn't always the most useful one. Think about where your water comes from.

1. Find your stream. Open ChescoViews or the Flood Tool map and find the creek that drains your neighborhood. In West Chester and West Goshen this might be Goose Creek, Chester Creek or a Brandywine tributary. In Downingtown it's likely the East Branch of the Brandywine.
2. Look upstream. A gauge upstream of you shows rising water before it reaches your street. That's your warning time.
3. Add a downstream gauge too if one is nearby. It confirms how high the water got near you.
4. Small streams may have no gauge. If your creek isn't gauged, use the nearest gauge on the larger stream it flows into, and treat any alert as a sign that local creeks are also high. Heavy local rain is your other warning sign.
5. Write down your trouble level. After a storm, note what the gauge read when water reached your yard, street or window wells. Next time, that number means more than any general flood stage.

Subscribing to text or email alerts

Signup steps can change, so follow the instructions on the county's page. In general:

1. Open the Flood Tool from the county's online water maps gallery.
2. Select the gauge or gauges you want to follow.
3. Choose text, email or both, and enter your contact details.
4. Confirm the subscription if the system sends a verification message.
5. Add the alert sender to your contacts so messages aren't filtered as spam.
6. Sign up a second person in the household, or a neighbor, in case you're away.

Do this now, in dry weather. Alerts are most useful when they arrive hours before water does.

What to do when an alert fires

An alert means the creek is rising. It doesn't always mean your home will flood, but it's time to act on a short list.

Right away

• Move cars to higher ground, away from creeks and low streets.
• Check the sump pump: pour water in the pit and make sure it runs. Make sure the backup is charged.
• Carry valuables, documents and electronics up from the basement.
• Clear leaves from yard drains and the storm inlet in front of your house if it's safe.

If water is rising near you

• Turn off power to the basement at the breaker if you can do so from a dry spot.
• Don't drive or walk through moving water.
• Follow local emergency instructions. If told to leave, leave.

After the crest

• Wait for water to drop before entering a flooded basement.
• Photograph everything before cleanup.
• Start drying within 24 to 48 hours to limit mold.

Our basement flooding service handles water removal and drying once it's safe. For local service details, see our West Goshen page. Learn about the storms that make these alerts worth having in what Ida taught Chester County about flooding, and check your mapped risk with our Chester County flood zone map guide.

FAQ

Are the alerts free?

The county offers the Flood Tool and alerts as a public service. Standard text message rates from your carrier may apply.

Is a gauge alert the same as a National Weather Service flood warning?

No. A gauge alert reports what one creek is doing. NWS watches and warnings are official forecasts for an area. Pay attention to both.

Can I check the gauges without signing up?

Yes. You can view current levels on the county's Flood Tool map or on the USGS water data site at any time. Alerts simply save you from having to watch.

Water in the basement after a storm?

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