WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Bougie Creek at Kilometre 368 Alaska Highway in BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Bougie Creek in the Muskwa watershed of British Columbia.
This station drains 336 km2 (130 sq mi) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the creek at this point, not the whole Muskwa watershed.
For people watching the water, the record tells the main message. The highest level in the 45-year record was 3.37 m (11.06 ft) in December 2016. The lowest was 1.29 m (4.22 ft) in March 2012. That is a wide spread for a small creek, so the level can sit well below the peaks and still change the amount of water moving through a crossing, intake, or bank edge.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The typical high month is May at 1.88 m (6.16 ft), and the typical low month is January at 1.48 m (4.86 ft). The typical annual swing is 39.5 cm (15.6 in).
That swing matters for docks, culverts, and pump setups. A seasonal range of 39.5 cm (15.6 in) is not huge, but it is enough to change how much clearance or depth a setup has through the year. The highest month coming in May fits a snowmelt-driven mountain pattern, while the January low shows the quieter part of the cycle.
The record high in December 2016 stands out because it is well above the usual seasonal peak. The record low in March 2012 sits below the normal winter level. Those are the edges of the station record, and they show the range this creek can reach.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it puts the creek against its own seasonal history, not against a fixed number.
With more than 45 years on record, the median for the day is the better yardstick for local decisions: whether to check a crossing, watch a bank, or decide if the creek is running higher or lower than usual for this date.
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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