Broad River near Columbia Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Broad River near Columbia in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location SC, United States
- Watershed lower broad
- Primary gauge 02162035 (USGS)
About Broad River near Columbia
Broad River near Columbia is in the Lower Broad watershed, South Carolina.
The watershed
The gauge drains 5,230 sq mi (13,546 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area that feeds the reading here, not the full watershed on a map. For anyone watching the river at a dock, intake, or bank, this upstream basin is the part that sets the level you see.
What the numbers say
This station has 15 years on record. The record high is 166.39 ft (50.72 m), set in September 2024. The record low is 149.25 ft (45.49 m), set in August 2011.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight. The typical high month is March at 154.93 ft (47.22 m), and the typical low month is September at 154.06 ft (46.96 m). The typical annual swing is 10.4 in (26.4 cm). For users on the water, that means the river usually stays within a narrow band through the year, but there is still enough movement to matter for low docks, pumps, and shallow access.
This setting fits a rain-driven coastal-plain and piedmont regime: winter-spring rains dominate, hurricane-season tropical deluges can reset records, and long warm-season low-flow stretches are part of the rhythm. In plain terms, the river can stay near its usual range for long periods, then jump hard when a major rain event lands in the basin.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a river level only means much when you know what is normal for that date. A reading above the median says the river is running higher than usual for today; a reading below it says the opposite. With 15 years on record from the USGS, that day-by-day comparison gives a better sense of where the river sits in its seasonal cycle than a single elevation figure on its own.
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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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
