South Sulphur River level at Cooper
Texas · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 07342500 — S Sulphur Rv nr Cooper, TX · NWS forecast point COPT2
Reading taken · as of 48 min ago
Low and clear — wadeable, and fish will be spooky
At 3.0 CFS, this gauge is running 54% of normal for mid-September — below the 5.5 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 34 years of record (1992–2026).
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Flood stages at Cooper
National Weather Service categories for gauge COPT2, WFO FWD. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
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Major flood 25.0 ft
- 25.0 ft Major out of banks flooding is occurring along the river reach. Several rural roads are underwater. Farm and ranch land near the river is flooded.
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Moderate flood 20.0 ft
- 20.0 ft Moderate out of bank flooding will occur along the river reach. A few rural roads will be flooded. Moderate flooding will occur on farm and ranch land adjacent to the river.
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Minor flood 16.0 ft
- 16.0 ft Minor out of bank flooding will occur. A few rural roads will begin to flood. Minor flooding will occur to farm and ranch land adjacent to the river.
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Action 14.0 ft
- Right now 1.52 ft
NWS forecast: 1.50 ft by .
Flow history at Cooper
Daily values from USGS 07342500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for COPT2 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Cooper
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 27.21 ft | 47,200 CFS | May 13, 1982 |
| 26.15 ft | 42,500 CFS | Dec 10, 1971 |
| 26.02 ft | 30,500 CFS | Apr 30, 1966 |
| 26.00 ft | 23,800 CFS | Apr 29, 1953 |
| 25.77 ft | 31,500 CFS | May 7, 1969 |
| 25.68 ft | 23,800 CFS | Feb 2, 1975 |
| 25.37 ft | 23,200 CFS | Apr 27, 1957 |
| 25.36 ft | 23,200 CFS | Nov 6, 1957 |
| 25.16 ft | 21,700 CFS | Mar 28, 1977 |
| 25.09 ft | 18,300 CFS | Feb 13, 1950 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About South Sulphur River at Cooper
In Texas, below Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake). 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 Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake). A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
South Sulphur River at Cooper — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake) 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 South Sulphur River at Cooper high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 5.5 CFS, from 34 years of record (1992–2026). Today is 54% of it. 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 07342500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for COPT2 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.