WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Achray Water at Loch Katrine in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Achray Water at Loch Katrine is a gauged river in Scotland.
This station watches flow from a catchment of 94 km2 (36.3 sq mi) above the gauge. For anyone drawing water, checking a crossing, or keeping an eye on the bank, that upstream area is the part that feeds what this reach can do after rain. SEPA publishes the record for this site, and the archive now spans 50 years.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. December is the highest typical month at 0.14 m (0.47 ft), while July is the lowest typical month at 0.09 m (0.28 ft). That is the sort of difference a dock, intake, or landing spot has to live with through the year.
The record range is wider than the month-to-month pattern. The high point was 1.63 m (5.36 ft) in December 1994. The low point was 0 m (0 ft) in January 1999. Those two marks show how far this reach has already moved over the station record.
The typical annual swing is 5.6 cm (2.2 in). That is small in ordinary seasons, but the long record shows the gauge can still jump well beyond that during unusual rain.
The number shown on the page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day, not just a raw level. That comparison is more useful because the same height can mean different things depending on the season. On this river, a value near the December median tells a different story than the same value in July.
With 50 years on record, SEPA’s daily context helps you see whether the river is running near its usual place for this date, or whether it is leaning high or low for the time of year. For neighbours, that is the quicker read: not just where the water sits, but how that reading compares with the day’s normal pattern.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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