WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Barton Creek at Loop 360, Austin in TX, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Barton Creek in the Austin-Travis Lakes watershed, Texas.
April is the usual high-water month here, with a typical level of 2.54 ft (0.77 m). August is the usual low-water month, with a typical level of 1.74 ft (0.53 m). That seasonal swing is 9.6 in (24.5 cm), which is the range a dock, crossing, or intake has to live with through the year.
For people watching this creek, that pattern means spring tends to run higher than late summer, while the longer low-water stretches are part of the normal cycle between rain events. In a flash-flood setting, the water can change fast after heavy rain, so a quiet channel can turn busy in hours.
The record high is 10.75 ft (3.28 m), set in November 2004. The record low is 1.63 ft (0.5 m), set in July 2012. Those two marks show how wide the creek’s range can be at this station.
The record low is close to the typical August level, while the record high sits far above the seasonal pattern. For anyone fishing, crossing, or drawing water nearby, that gap is the main story: the creek can spend long periods low, then move to a much higher stage when storms hit. The gauge has 49 years on record.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day, not against a fixed elevation. That makes it easier to tell whether the creek is running above or below its usual spot for this date.
This station is monitored by the USGS. With more than 49 years of record behind it, the daily median gives a better local baseline than a raw height alone, especially on a creek where rainfall-driven rises can change the stage quickly.
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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