Ashley River near North Charleston Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ashley River near North Charleston in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location SC, United States
- Watershed south carolina coastal
- Primary gauge 021720869 (USGS)
About Ashley River near North Charleston
Ashley River near North Charleston is a gauged river in the South Carolina Coastal watershed, South Carolina.
What the record shows
The record high is 11.94 ft (3.64 m) in June 2009, and the record low is 5.36 ft (1.63 m) in July 2008. That spread tells you this station has room to move well beyond its usual day-to-day range.
Seasonally, the highest typical level is 9.25 ft (2.82 m) in September, while the lowest typical level is 8.39 ft (2.56 m) in January. The typical annual swing is 10.3 in (26.1 cm), so the water here usually changes by inches, not feet, across the year.
For someone keeping a dock, intake, or launch in mind, that means the river usually stays fairly steady, but the record still shows it can jump to a much higher mark in a wet month and fall well below the usual band in a dry one.
The watershed
This watershed follows a rain-driven coastal-plain pattern. Winter and spring rains matter, and late-summer tropical systems can push the river to levels that sit well outside the seasonal average. Warm-season low flow can last long enough to matter for access, depth, and salinity reach in nearby waters.
The monthly pattern here fits that broader rhythm only partly: January is the lowest typical month, while September is the highest. Read that as a reminder to watch both the cool-season rain pattern and the late-season storm window.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page is most useful when set against the median for the same calendar day across more than 34 years of USGS records. That comparison shows whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date, which tells you more than the raw stage alone.
USGS is the agency behind this station, so the reference point comes from the same record that holds the highs, lows, and seasonal pattern above.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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.
Water Stories
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How every number is computed - About the platform
