Black Burn at Pluscarden Abbey Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Black Burn at Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Scotland, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge sepa-486057 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Black Burn at Pluscarden Abbey
Black Burn at Pluscarden Abbey is a gauged river in Scotland.
The watershed
The station drains 46 km2 (17.8 sq mi) above the gauge. That is the part of the catchment that feeds the reading here, so local rain and runoff in that area are what matter for this site.
For this reach, the seasonal pattern is straightforward. The highest typical month is January, at 0.36 m (1.18 ft), and the lowest typical month is July, at 0.16 m (0.53 ft). For anyone using the burn for access, bank work, or a small intake, that is the rhythm to expect through the year.
What the numbers say
The record range on this station is tight and worth noting. The highest level in the record is 2.31 m (7.57 ft) in August 2014. The lowest is 0.08 m (0.25 ft) in July 2014. Those two months tell you the reach can move from low summer water to a much higher late-summer reading in the same year.
The typical annual swing is 19.6 cm (7.7 in). That is the amount the river usually shifts across the year, so docks, crossings, and shallow margins need to tolerate a steady seasonal change rather than a fixed level.
With 14 years on record, the station has enough history to show what this burn has actually done, not just what it might do in an average season.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for the same calendar day, not against a raw level on its own. That comparison tells you whether today is high or low for this date at this site, which is more useful than a single elevation by itself.
At this station, the reading comes from SEPA. A long record, in this case 14 years, gives the date-by-date median some weight because it is built from the station’s own history on the burn, not from a generic benchmark.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
