About this river
Des Plaines River is a 1.9 mile stream near Southport Marina in Wisconsin. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Des Plaines River at Russell, IL (site 05527800). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 4. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1967 to 2026
Des Plaines River typically runs highest in April, at a median 160 cfs, and lowest in September, at 5.2 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 3,260 cfs, in 2004.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30 | 13 to 78 | |
| February | 42 | 13 to 139 | |
| March | 155 | 73 to 292 | |
| April | 160 | 74 to 317 | |
| May | 78 | 35 to 190 | |
| June | 40 | 13 to 130 | |
| July | 13 | 5.3 to 70 | |
| August | 6.2 | 2.1 to 23 | |
| September | 5.2 | 1.4 to 34 | |
| October | 10 | 3.0 to 34 | |
| November | 26 | 11 to 77 | |
| December | 41 | 13 to 108 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 59 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Des Plaines River at Russell, IL (site 05527800). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Des Plaines River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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