WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Burstow Stream at Bonehurst Bridge in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Burstow Stream at Bonehurst Bridge is a gauged river in England.
The seasonal pattern here is modest but clear. January is the usual high point at 2.02 m (6.62 ft), while September is the usual low point at 1.77 m (5.8 ft). For anyone with a bank, crossing, or intake to think about, that is a swing of 25 cm (9.8 in) through the year.
That pattern fits a temperate river: higher water in the colder part of the year, lower water late in summer. On this stream, the change is not large, but it is enough to matter when you are judging where a mooring, pump, or field edge will sit from month to month.
The record high is 4.16 m (13.66 ft), set in December 2013. The record low is 0.38 m (1.23 ft), set in July 1993. Those two readings show the range this reach has already taken on in the record, and they are the clearest guide to how far the stream can move beyond its usual seasonal band.
With 34 years on record, the gauge gives a workable history for local planning. If you live or fish here, the main lesson is simple: the stream has shown both winter highs and a very low summer reading, so conditions can depart from the typical month-to-month level when weather turns wet or dry for long enough.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading, set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation alone because it shows whether the stream is acting normally for the date, not just how high the water sits above the gauge.
This station is operated by the Environment Agency. More than 34 years of records behind it make that day-by-day comparison more meaningful, especially when you want to judge whether today’s level is sitting near the usual band or pushing toward the kinds of highs and lows the stream has already shown.
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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