Summary
Total streamflow across the
Ipswich River
was last observed at
106
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
211
acre-ft of water today; about 34%
of normal.
River levels are low and may signify a drought.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
308 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2014-12-12 when daily discharge volume was observed at
2,425 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Ipswich River Near Ipswich
reporting a streamflow rate of 66.6 cfs.
This is also the highest stage along the Ipswich River, with a gauge stage of
3.29 ft at this location.
This river is monitored from 2 different streamgauging stations along the Ipswich River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 49 ft, the
Ipswich River At South Middleton.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-04 |
| Discharge Volume | 211 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
106.2 cfs
+11.6 cfs (+12.26%) |
| Percent of Normal | 34.43% |
| Maximum |
2,425.0 cfs
2014-12-12 |
| Seasonal Avg | 308 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ipswich River At South Middleton
USGS 01101500 |
40 cfs | 2.65 ft | 35.15 | |||||
|
Ipswich River Near Ipswich
USGS 01102000 |
67 cfs | 3.29 ft | 1.99 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
Ipswich River is a small river in northeastern Massachusetts, United States. It held significant importance in early colonial migrations inland from the ocean port of Ipswich. The river provided safe harborage at offshore Plum Island Sound to early Massachusetts subsistence farmers, who were also fishermen. A part of the river forms town boundaries and divides Essex County, Massachusetts on the coast from the more inland Middlesex County. It is 35 miles (56 km) long, and its watershed is approximately 155 square miles (401 km2), with an estimated population in the area of 160,000 people.Historically, the settlement of Essex County began at the oldest community there, the tiny seaport of Agawam (later renamed Ipswich), and typically proceeded westward and northward along the Ipswich or its tributary creeks. When Middlesex County was formed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, only Salem and Charlestown across the Charles River mouth and Boston harbor's inner estuary from Boston's much smaller hill dominated peninsula were older settlements.
The upper river runs through and drains at least parts of Burlington, the lower river forms part of the borders between the towns:
of North Reading and the town of Lynnfield
of Middleton and the city of Peabody
of Middleton and the town of Danvers, and
the town of Boxford and the Town of Topsfield.The wide swamps along the river made it impossible to ford the stream anywhere east of Wilmington in colonial times. The only route north out of Boston to the northeast (today called the Northshore) was via the Andover Road, an often muddy track, later made a wagon road which forded the stream just below the confluence of Lubbers and Maple Meadow brooks.