Brazos River near West Columbia water level
USGS gauge 08116850 · Brazoria County · NWS gauge WCBT2
gage height, Oct 23, 2026 at 1:30 PM CDT · 35 minutes ago
- Below NWS minor flood stage
- 24.2 ft
- NWS action stage
- 20.0 ft
- NWS minor flood stage
- 26.0 ft
- NWS moderate flood stage
- 27.0 ft
- NWS major flood stage
- 28.0 ft
- Highest since 2018 (USGS)
- 28.33 ft (May 14, 2019)
- Usual range
- 1.06 to 3.03 ft
USGS marks recent readings as provisional: they can be revised after review.
- Air Quality Alert — issued Oct 22, 2026 at 5:16 PM CDT, expires Oct 23, 2026 at 9:30 PM CDT.
Air Quality Alert issued October 22 at 5:16PM CDT by NWS Houston/Galveston TX
Text as issued by NWS Houston/Galveston TX.
Last 7 days
Hourly averages of USGS readings. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since September 11, 2026.
How to read this gauge
Gage height is the height of the water surface above the gauge's zero point. This gauge's zero is set at 0 ft NAVD88, so its gage height is the water surface elevation above that datum. It is not a water depth.
The flood stages are the National Weather Service's, on the same scale as the gage height; they are the NWS's references for this location, not estimates made here.
Daily highs and lows since September 11, 2026
Annual peaks since 2018
In 9 complete water years of comparable USGS records (since 2018), the highest peak was 28.33 ft on May 14, 2019. So far in water year 2027 (since October 1) the highest reading is 4.08 ft on October 10, 2026.
Each dot is the highest gage height of a water year (October to September), from the USGS annual peak record, with recent years USGS has not published yet taken from its 15-minute readings and this site's own; hover a dot for its date. Dashed lines are NWS flood stages.
NWS historic crests
| Date | Crest | Above minor flood stage |
|---|---|---|
| September 3, 2017 | 30.73 ft | 4.7 ft |
| June 8, 2016 | 30.22 ft | 4.2 ft |
| May 14, 2019 | 28.33 ft | 2.3 ft |
| April 2, 2018 | 19.96 ft | — |
The highest crests the National Weather Service lists for this gauge, as published. They can differ from the USGS annual peaks above: USGS records the year's highest gage height, which is not always the crest the NWS lists for the same flood.
In past storms
| Storm | Peak | Peak time | Rise | Compared with its record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1–2, 2026 | 4.06 ft | Oct 4, 2026 at 2:30 AM CDT | 1.2 ft | highest since water year 2026 (17.71 ft on June 19, 2026) |
Download the readings
brazos-river-near-west-columbia.csv (CSV): every reading stored for this gauge since September 11, 2026, 4,032 rows, with time in UTC and Central, gage height in feet, and the USGS approval status.
Source. Gage height from the U.S. Geological Survey; flood stages and historic crests from the NWS National Water Prediction Service. This site is not affiliated with either agency.