WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Chatt R at Powers FY and I-285 near Atlanta in GA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Chattahoochee River at Powers Ferry and I-285 near Atlanta sits in the Upper Chattahoochee watershed, Georgia.
The record high is 10.95 ft (3.34 m) in September 2024, and the record low is 3.26 ft (1 m) in April 2017. Those two marks give a quick sense of the range this reach can see on a USGS station record that runs about 10 years.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. March is the highest typical month at 5.27 ft (1.61 m), while September is the lowest typical month at 3.96 ft (1.21 m). The typical annual swing is 15.7 in (39.8 cm). For anyone watching a dock, bank edge, or intake, that means the river usually changes by a noticeable but not huge amount through the year, with the lowest water tending to show up in late summer.
This gauge drains 1420 sq mi (3678 km2) upstream of the station. That is the contributing area for this reading, not the full watershed on a map. In this part of Georgia, winter and spring rains often keep levels moving, while warm-season low flows can settle in between storms. That seasonal rhythm is the main thing to watch here: higher water in wetter months, lower water when rain is sparse.
The hero number on this page should be read as today’s level against the median for this calendar day at this station. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual condition for this date.
This station is run by the USGS, and the record spans about 10 years. On a short record like that, the day-of-year comparison is the better neighbourly cue for fishing, access, and flood watch than a single level by itself.
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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