Bayou Lafourche near Alto Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Bayou Lafourche near Alto in LA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location LA, United States
- Watershed boeuf
- Primary gauge 07369050 (USGS)
About Bayou Lafourche near Alto
Bayou Lafourche near Alto is a gauged river in the Boeuf watershed in Louisiana.
The watershed
This bayou sits in a low-gradient river system where water can stay elevated after rain and move back up under downstream surge conditions. For people living along it, that usually means water levels can change more by persistence than by speed: a rise may hang around for days, and a drop can be slow too.
The station’s record spans more than 30 years, so the monthly pattern is useful for day-to-day planning. The highest typical month is April at 48.03 ft (14.64 m), while the lowest is October at 35.38 ft (10.78 m). That spread matters for docks, bank access, and pumps: the bayou normally moves through a swing of 12.6 ft (3.85 m) across the year.
What the numbers say
The highest level in the record reached 65.44 ft (19.95 m) in March 2016. The lowest level in the record fell to 34 ft (10.36 m) in October 2023.
Those two marks frame the range people should keep in mind here. March has produced the record high, while October holds both the typical low month and the record low. In practice, that means the bayou can run close to its seasonal bottom just as it also has the capacity to climb well beyond the usual monthly pattern.
The typical annual swing of 12.6 ft (3.85 m) is the number to watch for shoreline access, low-lying crossings, and any setup that depends on a fixed water edge.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone because a given level can mean very different things in April and October.
At this site, the reference record covers more than 30 years at a USGS station. Comparing today with the calendar-day median shows whether the bayou is running near its usual level for this date, or sitting above or below the middle of the long record. For cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers, that is the faster read: it places the current stage in the local pattern people actually live with.
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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Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
