WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Bardsey Beck at Bardsey in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Bardsey Beck at Bardsey is a gauged river in England.
This station sits on Bardsey Beck, and the record here runs for 18 years. For people watching the water day to day, that means the page is best read as a local gauge, not as a broad statement about the whole district.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward. January is the highest month, with a typical level of 0.24 m (0.8 ft), while July is the lowest month, with a typical level of 0.13 m (0.43 ft). The typical annual swing is 11.2 cm (4.4 in), so the channel’s day-to-day range is usually modest, but it still matters for low crossings, outfalls, and small pumps.
The record high is 1.1 m (3.62 ft), reached in May 2024. The record low is 0.07 m (0.22 ft), reached in August 2018. Those two marks show the spread this gauge has already seen: from a low summer reading to a much higher spring peak.
For a cottager or angler, the useful point is not just that the river moves, but that it can move outside its usual band. The highest month is January, which fits the broader temperate pattern of a winter or spring peak. The lowest month is July, when the gauge tends to sit lower and shallow margins become more exposed.
The hero number on this page is most useful when it is read against the median for the same calendar day across more than 18 years of Environment Agency record. That comparison tells you whether today is running high or low for this date, which is better than raw stage alone.
Raw elevation by itself is only one number. The calendar-day median shows where today sits relative to the station’s own history, and that is the more practical guide for routine decisions on this water.
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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