WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Black Stream near Dover-Foxcroft, Maine in ME, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Black Stream in the Piscataquis River watershed in Maine is a USGS river station with 26.7 sq mi (69.2 km2) upstream of the gauge.
The station drains 26.7 sq mi (69.2 km2) above the gauge, so the reading reflects what is happening in that small upstream basin, not the whole Piscataquis River. For people watching a crossing, a camp road, or a shoreline intake, that scale matters: changes can show up quickly, and local rain or snowmelt can move the level before conditions change farther downstream.
In this part of New England, spring snowmelt freshet is the main seasonal event, with ice-jam risk, fall rain floods, and long winter ice cover. That is the regional setting for this river, and it is the backdrop for the station record.
The record high is 7.81 ft (2.38 m), set in April 2014. The record low is 2.29 ft (0.7 m), set in September 2016.
The seasonal pattern is clear in the monthly medians. April is the highest typical month at 4.27 ft (1.3 m), while July is the lowest typical month at 2.6 ft (0.79 m). The typical annual swing is 20 in (50.8 cm). For anyone using a dock, watching a ford, or running a small intake, that spread is the part of the record to keep in mind: spring water can be well above summer levels, and summer lows can sit close to the lower end of the station’s range.
This station has more than 18 years on record.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That makes it more useful than raw elevation by itself, because the same level can mean different things in April and July.
At this station, USGS uses its own record to show whether today sits above or below the usual level for this date. With more than 18 years of record behind it, that comparison gives cottagers, anglers, and flood watchers a quick read on where the river stands for this time of year, not just how high it is in isolation.
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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