Nancy Creek (Atlanta)
Encyclopedia
Nancy Creek is a 16.3 miles (26.2 km) stream
in northern Atlanta, Georgia
, United States
. It begins in far northern DeKalb County
, just north of Chamblee
, and flows southwestward into Fulton County
, through the far southeast corner of Sandy Springs
, then through the Buckhead
area of Atlanta. It empties into Peachtree Creek
, which then flows into the Chattahoochee River
, south of Vinings
and Paces
. The Chattahoochee eventually joins with the Flint River
to create the Apalachicola River
, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico
. The North Fork Nancy Creek is a major tributary
, while Little Nancy Creek tends to run low or dry.
Since 1994, Nancy Creek has had a USGS stream gauge
in the Paces neighborhood of Atlanta at West Wesley Road (NANG1, 33°50′18"N 84°26′22"W), with NWS
flood stage
being 12 feet (3.7 m) at that point. The drainage basin
above it is 37.7 square miles (97.6 km²). Since 2003, there is another gauge further upstream in Buckhead at Rickenbacker Drive (NCKG1, 33°52′09"N 84°22′44"W). The basin at that point is 26.6 square miles (68.9 km²), above an elevation of 810 feet (246.9 m), with a flood stage of 11 feet (3.4 m). Records of manual observations actually go back to 1961 at both sites (which are considered to be "at Atlanta"), but the latter gauge (often called "at Buckhead" to avoid ambiguity) appears to be the officially-used one.
Especially due to excessive urbanization
, Nancy Creek often flood
s. Prior to September 2009, the most recent was in July 2005, with it reaching 12.9 feet (3.9 m) after the outer rain bands of Hurricane Dennis
passed by. This was just after Hurricane Cindy
caused it to flood as well, though neither event was considered major.
Hurricane Ivan
and Hurricane Frances
caused record-high floods less than a year earlier in September 2004. Those massive rains caused a sewer pipe
to collapse into the creek due to major erosion
, spilling sewage
into the creek. The creek reached 15.26 feet (4.7 m) late on September 16, its second-highest ever. While this only lasted a few hours, several residents had to be rescued and evacuated
by boat.
Some of the worst flooding ever recorded on Nancy Creek occurred in September 2009 as a result of the 2009 Atlanta floods. It severely damaged the bridge at Peachtree Dunwoody Road, washing out the main center support beam. The bridge was closed for six months until an entirely new two-lane replacement bridge reopened on March 23, 2010. The Emergency Repair Program of the Federal Highway Administration funded 100% of the $1 million cost.
On the evening of September 21, the creek reached 14.69 feet (4.5 m) at Rickenbacker Drive, where it began to overflow the bridge. This falls in fourth place, behind the 1973 record of 15.5 feet (4.7 m) set on December 1. It also reached 18.7 feet (5.7 m) at West Wesley Road, in second place behind the 2004 flood, when it reached 21.34 feet (6.5 m) on September 17.
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
in northern Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It begins in far northern DeKalb County
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
, just north of Chamblee
Chamblee, Georgia
As of the 2010 Census Chamblee had a population of 9,892. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 45.0% white , 7.0% black or African American , 2.1% Native American , 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Asian Indian, 4.6% other Asian, 33.5% from some other race and...
, and flows southwestward into Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, through the far southeast corner of Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
, then through the Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
area of Atlanta. It empties into Peachtree Creek
Peachtree Creek
Peachtree Creek is a major stream in Atlanta. It flows for almost due west into the Chattahoochee River just south of Vinings. Like other "Peachtree" names in the area, the name is most likely a corruption of "pitch tree", from the area's many pines and their sticky sap.Peachtree Creek is an...
, which then flows into the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
, south of Vinings
Vinings, Georgia
Vinings is a census-designated place and an unincorporated town in Cobb County, Georgia, just across the Chattahoochee River from Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 9,734. It is located between the affluent West Paces Ferry section of Buckhead in northwest Atlanta,...
and Paces
Paces (Atlanta)
Paces is a neighborhood of Atlanta. It is part of the Buckhead district and located in the far northwest corner of the city. Paces is bounded on the northwest by the Chattahoochee River, which is also the Cobb/Fulton county line...
. The Chattahoochee eventually joins with the Flint River
Flint River (Georgia)
The Flint River is a river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the upper Piedmont region south of Atlanta to the wetlands of the Gulf Coastal Plain in the southwestern corner of the state. Along with the Apalachicola and the Chattahoochee rivers,...
to create the Apalachicola River
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...
, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. The North Fork Nancy Creek is a major tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, while Little Nancy Creek tends to run low or dry.
Since 1994, Nancy Creek has had a USGS stream gauge
Stream gauge
A stream gauge, stream gage or gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water surface elevation and/or volumetric discharge are generally taken and observations of biota may also be...
in the Paces neighborhood of Atlanta at West Wesley Road (NANG1, 33°50′18"N 84°26′22"W), with NWS
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
flood stage
Flood stage
Flood stage is the level at which the surface of a river, creek, or other body of water has risen to a sufficient level to cause damage or affects use of man-made structures...
being 12 feet (3.7 m) at that point. The drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
above it is 37.7 square miles (97.6 km²). Since 2003, there is another gauge further upstream in Buckhead at Rickenbacker Drive (NCKG1, 33°52′09"N 84°22′44"W). The basin at that point is 26.6 square miles (68.9 km²), above an elevation of 810 feet (246.9 m), with a flood stage of 11 feet (3.4 m). Records of manual observations actually go back to 1961 at both sites (which are considered to be "at Atlanta"), but the latter gauge (often called "at Buckhead" to avoid ambiguity) appears to be the officially-used one.
Especially due to excessive urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
, Nancy Creek often flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s. Prior to September 2009, the most recent was in July 2005, with it reaching 12.9 feet (3.9 m) after the outer rain bands of Hurricane Dennis
Hurricane Dennis
Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the very active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season...
passed by. This was just after Hurricane Cindy
Hurricane Cindy (2005)
Hurricane Cindy was a tropical cyclone that briefly reached minimal hurricane strength in the Gulf of Mexico during July in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and made landfall in Louisiana. It was the third named storm and first hurricane of the season...
caused it to flood as well, though neither event was considered major.
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
and Hurricane Frances
Hurricane Frances
Hurricane Frances was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The system crossing the open Atlantic during mid to late August, moving to the north of the Lesser Antilles while strengthening. Its outer bands affected Puerto...
caused record-high floods less than a year earlier in September 2004. Those massive rains caused a sewer pipe
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
to collapse into the creek due to major erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, spilling sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
into the creek. The creek reached 15.26 feet (4.7 m) late on September 16, its second-highest ever. While this only lasted a few hours, several residents had to be rescued and evacuated
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
by boat.
Some of the worst flooding ever recorded on Nancy Creek occurred in September 2009 as a result of the 2009 Atlanta floods. It severely damaged the bridge at Peachtree Dunwoody Road, washing out the main center support beam. The bridge was closed for six months until an entirely new two-lane replacement bridge reopened on March 23, 2010. The Emergency Repair Program of the Federal Highway Administration funded 100% of the $1 million cost.
On the evening of September 21, the creek reached 14.69 feet (4.5 m) at Rickenbacker Drive, where it began to overflow the bridge. This falls in fourth place, behind the 1973 record of 15.5 feet (4.7 m) set on December 1. It also reached 18.7 feet (5.7 m) at West Wesley Road, in second place behind the 2004 flood, when it reached 21.34 feet (6.5 m) on September 17.
External links
- USGS page for Nancy Creek gauge at West Wesley Road
- USGS page for Nancy Creek gauge at Rickenbacker Drive
- ISBN 0820329290 Peachtree Creek: A Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed by David R. Kaufman