WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cedar Creek near Pleasant View in MO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Cedar Creek in the Sac watershed, Missouri.
The record at this station runs through 50 years. The highest stage in that record was 26.01 ft (7.93 m) in December 2015. The lowest was 2.22 ft (0.68 m) in September 2023.
The seasonal pattern is modest compared with those extremes. The highest typical month is May at 5.31 ft (1.62 m), and the lowest typical month is August at 3.05 ft (0.93 m). That typical annual swing is 27.1 in (68.8 cm), which is the range a dock, crossing, or intake has to live with from month to month.
For people using the creek, those numbers say the record can jump well beyond the usual seasonal band. That matters for low banks, culverts, and any spot where water level changes quickly change access.
The station drains 420 sq mi (1088 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the full Sac watershed.
This is a river-valley setting where rainfall can drive flooding in any season, with the fastest rises often in spring. Some streams in this region also hold baseflow through karst springs, so day-to-day levels can stay steadier than rain alone would suggest. On this creek, the seasonal low in August and the higher typical level in May fit that broader rhythm, but the record also shows the creek can break well outside it.
The number on the page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day, not with a raw elevation by itself. A stage that sits above the day’s median says the creek is running high for the season; a stage below it says the opposite.
That comparison is the right one because the normal water level changes through the year. It gives cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers a clearer sense of where the creek stands relative to its own record for this date.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 50 years.
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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