Cedar C near Desoto Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cedar C near Desoto in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location KS, United States
- Watershed lower kansas kansas
- Primary gauge 06892495 (USGS)
About Cedar C near Desoto
Cedar Creek in the Lower Kansas watershed, Kansas, is monitored at the USGS station near Desoto.
What the record shows
The record at this station runs back 24 years. The high-water mark is 70.11 ft (21.37 m), reached in May 2016. The low-water mark is 57.17 ft (17.42 m), reached in September 2023.
The seasonal pattern is tight. May is the typical high month at 57.6 ft (17.56 m), and September is the typical low month at 57.33 ft (17.47 m). The typical annual swing is 3.3 in (8.4 cm). For a dock, intake, or bank crossing, that means the everyday range is small, even though the record shows the creek can still jump well beyond it.
For this part of Kansas, spring and summer storms are the main risk to watch. High water can build fast, and then drain away slowly across flat ground. The station does not list a fastest 24-hour rise, so there is no number here to use as a warning-time benchmark.
The watershed
This gauge drains 58.4 sq mi (151 km2) upstream of the station. That area belongs to the gauge, not the larger watershed name on the page.
Cedar Creek here is a small tributary compared with the nearby Kansas River stations in the peer list. That matters because small upstream areas respond quickly to rain, but the water can also leave the channel more slowly when the ground stays wet and the drainage path is flat. If you are checking a low crossing, a driveway culvert, or a pump intake, the upstream area is part of the risk picture.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading against the median for this calendar day, not just the raw water level. That comparison is better than elevation alone because a level that looks ordinary in one month may be high for that day of the year, or vice versa.
This station is a USGS site with more than 24 years on record, so the calendar-day median has a useful local history behind it. If the page number sits above that median, the creek is running wetter than is typical for this date; if it sits below, it is running drier.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
