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Moreau River (SD) near Faith

Highest listed crest 21.90 ftFlood stage 16.0 ft86 crests since 1944

The Moreau River (SD) near Faith crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 86 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1944 to 2024. The highest, 21.90 ft on April 9, 1944, was major flooding, 5.90 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
21.90 ft
April 9, 1944; 26,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
16.0 ft
Major flooding from 21.0 ft
Crests at major
3
31st of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
March 25, 2019
19.98 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Perkins County
South Dakota

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Moreau River (SD) near Faith
Action stage14.010Mar 8, 2001The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)16.03Jun 19, 2014Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage18.07Mar 25, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage21.03Apr 15, 2009Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

86 crests from 1944 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Moreau River (SD) near Faith, 1944 to 2024 0510152025ft Flood stage 16.0 ftMajor 21.0 ft Apr 9, 1944: 21.90 ft, major flooding; 26,000 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1944: 20.60 ft, moderate flooding; 23,000 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1945: 12.01 ft, below flood stage; 6,280 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1946: 8.10 ft, below flood stage; 2,370 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 1947: 13.50 ft, below flood stage; 7,930 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1948: 7.45 ft, below flood stage; 2,010 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1949: 12.00 ft, below flood stage; 6,280 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1950: 19.00 ft, moderate flooding; 23,000 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1951: 7.50 ft, below flood stage; 2,300 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1952: 18.20 ft, moderate flooding; 25,000 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1953: 15.60 ft, action stage; 12,700 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1954: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 2,460 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 1955: 5.08 ft, below flood stage; 826 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1956: 7.28 ft, below flood stage; 2,520 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1957: 5.31 ft, below flood stage; 987 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1958: 8.22 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1959: 5.47 ft, below flood stage; 830 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1960: 10.00 ft, below flood stage; 3,500 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1961: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 743 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1962: 10.85 ft, below flood stage; 5,380 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1963: 8.95 ft, below flood stage; 3,550 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1964: 7.92 ft, below flood stage; 2,460 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1965: 12.87 ft, below flood stage; 7,060 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1966: 11.10 ft, below flood stage; 4,350 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1967: 14.12 ft, action stage; 9,020 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1968: 5.32 ft, below flood stage; 942 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1969: 11.64 ft, below flood stage; 6,250 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1970: 7.78 ft, below flood stage; 2,700 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1971: 13.70 ft, below flood stage; 7,650 cubic feet per secondFeb 29, 1972: 14.50 ft, action stage; 6,100 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1973: 5.70 ft, below flood stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1974: 3.53 ft, below flood stage; 206 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1975: 15.85 ft, action stage; 11,500 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1976: 15.63 ft, action stage; 11,000 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1977: 10.28 ft, below flood stage; 4,070 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1978: 17.69 ft, minor flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1979: 8.60 ft, below flood stage; 2,750 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1980: 6.82 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1981: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 535 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1982: 18.04 ft, moderate flooding; 16,700 cubic feet per secondOct 11, 1982: 8.91 ft, below flood stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1984: 9.05 ft, below flood stage; 3,230 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1985: 10.71 ft, below flood stage; 5,130 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1986: 15.49 ft, action stage; 11,300 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1987: 13.09 ft, below flood stage; 6,000 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1988: 9.45 ft, below flood stage; 3,780 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1989: 9.46 ft, below flood stage; 4,130 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1990: 3.73 ft, below flood stage; 439 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1991: 5.79 ft, below flood stage; 1,340 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1992: 6.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1993: 12.96 ft, below flood stage; 6,590 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1994: 14.37 ft, action stage; 3,750 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1995: 15.18 ft, action stage; 9,850 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1996: 15.68 ft, action stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1997: 18.59 ft, moderate flooding; 8,200 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1998: 12.68 ft, below flood stage; 6,750 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 1999: 13.49 ft, below flood stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2000: 3.96 ft, below flood stage; 586 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2001: 15.94 ft, action stage; 7,000 cubic feet per secondAug 27, 2002: 6.24 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondSep 10, 2003: 7.93 ft, below flood stage; 2,690 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2004: 6.40 ft, below flood stageAug 5, 2004: 5.63 ft, below flood stage; 1,300 cubic feet per secondOct 30, 2005: 3.96 ft, below flood stage; 596 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 2006: 9.68 ft, below flood stage; 4,040 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 2007: 5.93 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2008: 21.50 ft, major flooding; 22,900 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2009: 21.72 ft, major flooding; 23,500 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2010: 13.33 ft, below flood stage; 7,510 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2011: 19.92 ft, moderate flooding; 17,800 cubic feet per secondJul 17, 2012: 3.81 ft, below flood stage; 479 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2013: 8.15 ft, below flood stage; 2,770 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 2014: 17.41 ft, minor floodingJun 19, 2014: 17.31 ft, minor flooding; 14,333 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2015: 7.90 ft, below flood stage; 2,300 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2016: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 956 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 2017: 5.75 ft, below flood stageApr 22, 2017: 5.00 ft, below flood stage; 928 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2018: 9.34 ft, below flood stage; 3,390 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 2019: 19.98 ft, moderate flooding; 20,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2020: 9.60 ft, below flood stage; 3,360 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2021: 2.93 ft, below flood stage; 352 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2022: 5.44 ft, below flood stage; 1,320 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2023: 10.24 ft, below flood stage; 4,180 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 2024: 3.15 ft, below flood stageJul 14, 2024: 2.63 ft, below flood stage; 322 cubic feet per second Highest, 21.90 ft, Apr 9, 1944 1960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Moreau River (SD) near Faith 1940s: 2 1950s: 2 1960s: 0 1970s: 1 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 2 2010s: 4 4 2020s: 0 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 86 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Moreau River (SD) near Faith
1Apr 9, 194421.90+5.90Major26,000
2Apr 15, 200921.72+5.72Major23,500
3Jun 7, 200821.50+5.50Major22,900
4Jun 18, 194420.60+4.60Moderate23,000
5Mar 25, 201919.98+3.98Moderate20,000
6Mar 17, 201119.92+3.92Moderate17,800
7Apr 17, 195019.00+3.00Moderate23,000
8Mar 12, 199718.59+2.59Moderate8,200
9Mar 30, 195218.20+2.20Moderate25,000
10May 22, 198218.04+2.04Moderate16,700
11Mar 23, 197817.69+1.69Minor15,800
12Mar 10, 201417.41+1.41Minor—
13Jun 19, 201417.31+1.31Minor14,333
14Mar 8, 200115.94−0.06Action7,000
15May 9, 197515.85−0.15Action11,500
16May 28, 199615.68−0.32Action12,000
17Jun 17, 197615.63−0.37Action11,000
18Jun 15, 195315.60−0.40Action12,700
19May 11, 198615.49−0.51Action11,300
20May 11, 199515.18−0.82Action9,850
21Feb 29, 197214.50−1.50Action6,100
22Mar 5, 199414.37−1.63Action3,750
23Jun 14, 196714.12−1.88Action9,020
24Mar 15, 197113.70−2.30Below flood stage7,650
25Feb 16, 194713.50−2.50Below flood stage7,930
26Feb 2, 199913.49−2.51Below flood stage2,000
27May 26, 201013.33−2.67Below flood stage7,510
28Mar 7, 198713.09−2.91Below flood stage6,000
29Jul 27, 199312.96−3.04Below flood stage6,590
30May 26, 196512.87−3.13Below flood stage7,060
31Jun 21, 199812.68−3.32Below flood stage6,750
32Mar 15, 194512.01−3.99Below flood stage6,280
33Mar 23, 194912.00−4.00Below flood stage6,280
34Jul 8, 196911.64−4.36Below flood stage6,250
35Mar 15, 196611.10−4.90Below flood stage4,350
36May 23, 196210.85−5.15Below flood stage5,380
37Mar 21, 198510.71−5.29Below flood stage5,130
38Jul 6, 197710.28−5.72Below flood stage4,070
39May 13, 202310.24−5.76Below flood stage4,180
40Mar 22, 196010.00−6.00Below flood stage3,500
41Aug 23, 20069.68−6.32Below flood stage4,040
42Mar 5, 20209.60−6.40Below flood stage3,360
43May 3, 19899.46−6.54Below flood stage4,130
44Jul 1, 19889.45−6.55Below flood stage3,780
45Jun 23, 20189.34−6.66Below flood stage3,390
46Jun 16, 19849.05−6.95Below flood stage3,230
47Jun 18, 19638.95−7.05Below flood stage3,550
48Oct 11, 19828.91−7.09Below flood stage3,110
49Jul 15, 19798.60−7.40Below flood stage2,750
50Jul 4, 19588.22−7.78Below flood stage2,900

The worst floods along the Moreau River (SD)

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Moreau River (SD) that crested above flood stage within a week.

April 15, 2009: 21.72 ft here, major flooding

June 7, 2008: 21.50 ft here, major flooding

March 25, 2019: 19.98 ft here, moderate flooding

  • WhitehorseSD · Mar 25, 2019 · 27.79 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the Moreau River (SD)

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Moreau River (SD)
Faith this gaugeSD16.021.90 ft, Apr 9, 19443
WhitehorseSD21.027.79 ft, Mar 25, 20198

Other gauges in Perkins County

Flood gauges in Perkins County
White Butte10.017.00 ft, Apr 8, 19523
Cash12.012.78 ft, Mar 18, 20090

Perkins County: every hazard · River floods across the country · South Dakota

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FTHS2, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.