Wakarusa River level at Lawrence
Kansas · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 06891500 — WAKARUSA R NR LAWRENCE, KS · NWS forecast point LAWK1
Reading taken · as of 33 min ago
About normal for the date
At 20 CFS, this gauge is running 115% of normal for mid-September — close to the 17 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 96 years of record (1930–2026).
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Flood stages at Lawrence
National Weather Service categories for gauge LAWK1, WFO TOP. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
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Major flood 45.0 ft
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Moderate flood 25.0 ft
- 25.0 ft Road 1150 East floods.
- 31.0 ft River reaches a width of a half mile and continues to spread over cultivated fields.
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Minor flood 23.0 ft
- 23.0 ft Minor low land flooding begins.
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Action 18.0 ft
- Right now 4.43 ft
Flow history at Lawrence
Daily values from USGS 06891500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for LAWK1 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Lawrence
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 31.59 ft | 24,200 CFS | Jul 12, 1951 |
| 31.01 ft | 8,210 CFS | Oct 11, 1973 |
| 30.86 ft | 2,280 CFS | Jun 21, 1967 |
| 30.82 ft | 8,070 CFS | Sep 28, 1973 |
| 30.65 ft | 7,960 CFS | Dec 4, 1973 |
| 30.50 ft | 7,850 CFS | Jul 20, 1973 |
| 30.26 ft | 14,200 CFS | Aug 10, 1968 |
| 30.12 ft | 7,580 CFS | Jul 19, 1973 |
| 29.87 ft | 12,300 CFS | Jun 27, 1968 |
| 29.31 ft | 7,020 CFS | May 7, 1973 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Wakarusa River at Lawrence
In Kansas, below Clinton 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 Clinton Lake. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Wakarusa River at Lawrence — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Clinton 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 Wakarusa River at Lawrence high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 17 CFS, from 96 years of record (1930–2026). Today is 115% 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 06891500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for LAWK1 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.