Philadelphians living in certain flood-prone areas can now monitor real-time water levels at nearby creeks through a new city website.
Gauges at nine locations are tracking rainfall totals, water temperature and barometric pressure, in addition to water levels. Some of the spots have video livestreams, while others display updated photographs of waterways or low-lying intersections. The website is available at flood-monitoring.phila.gov.
The monitoring system is currently operational at points along Darby Creek, Cobbs Creek, Pennypack Creek and Manayunk Canal, as well as at Kelly Drive and Midvale Avenue in East Falls; Bayton Street and Church Lane (East Germantown); and Godfrey Avenue and Beechwood Street (East Germantown), officials said.
Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) hopes the tool can be a resource to aid residents and business owners when they are determining whether to take steps to mitigate flood risk.
“This includes raising or moving important items from lower levels of residents’ and businesses’ properties, ensuring important documents or medications are organized, moving vehicles to higher ground, or even leaving your property until the storm threat passes,” the office wrote in a news release.
City leaders debuted the monitoring network Saturday morning at Eastwick Community Day. The Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood is perhaps the city’s most flood-challenged area, having experienced extensive damage from tropical storms Isaias in 2020 and Ida in 2021.
Many of the cameras and gauges are in Eastwick, which is located at the confluence of Darby and Cobbs creeks. In 2024, OEM began testing an emergency notification system to text flood warnings and severe weather information to participating neighborhood residents.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration said the alerts and monitors are part of a multi-pronged strategy to address rising waters in Eastwick. The city intends to install a temporary flood barrier near Darby Creek next year.
