WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Brier Creek at Pendelton Road near Louisville in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Brier Creek in the Salt watershed, Kentucky, is monitored by a USGS gauge near Louisville.
The record spans more than 28 years.
The highest reading in the record was 4.51 ft (1.38 m) in April 2015. The lowest was 0.03 ft (0.01 m) in October 2007. Those two values show the range this creek can move through at this station.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. April is the typical high month at 1.42 ft (0.43 m), while September is the typical low month at 1.01 ft (0.31 m). That is a typical annual swing of 4.9 in (12.5 cm). For people who use the creek, that means the channel tends to sit within a fairly narrow band most of the year, but the record also shows that the water can move well outside that band.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so I cannot point to a warning-time number for sudden increases.
The station drains 4 sq mi (10.4 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is a small catchment, and small catchments can respond quickly in Appalachian-foothill weather patterns, especially when rain falls on already wet ground.
The seasonal note for this part of the region fits the record shape here: higher water is most likely in winter and spring, while lower water is more common later in the warm season. For a dock, a crossing, or a small intake, the record says the creek usually stays in a tight range, but short-lived rises can matter more than slow seasonal change.
The hero number on this page is the current water level compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today is typical for this date, not just what the staff gauge happens to read.
This is a USGS station with more than 28 years on record. On a creek like this, the date-based median is the better quick check for anglers, landowners, and flood watchers because it puts today’s stage in the context of local history.
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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