Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the reporting a streamflow rate of cfs. This is also the highest stage along the Patapsco River, with a gauge stage of ft at this location. This river is monitored from 1 different streamgauging stations along the Patapsco River, the highest being situated at an altitude of ft, the .
The Patapsco River mainstem is a 39-mile-long (63 km) river in central Maryland which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth."