WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Clearwater Tailwater near Piedmont in MO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Clearwater Tailwater near Piedmont is a gauged river in the Upper Black watershed, Missouri.
The station’s record runs back more than 19 years. The highest level in that record was 59.65 ft (18.18 m) in May 2017. The lowest was 51.62 ft (15.74 m) in January 2020.
That spread matters on the ground. A swing from 55.85 ft (17.02 m) in May to 52.56 ft (16.02 m) in October is a 3.3 ft (1 m) seasonal range, so docks, pumps, and low crossings need to handle a change that is not just a day-to-day wobble.
The gauge drains 898 sq mi (2326 km2) upstream of the station. In this part of Missouri, floods can follow rain in any season, and rises are often fastest in spring. That means a wet spell can move water levels quickly even when the calendar says the main runoff season is past.
For people living or fishing here, the practical point is timing. May is the typical high month at 55.85 ft (17.02 m), while October is the typical low month at 52.56 ft (16.02 m). That seasonal pattern gives a useful range for planning launches, bank access, and intake placement.
The number shown at the top of the page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a stand-alone height. Raw elevation by itself says less than whether the river is running above or below its usual level for today.
This station is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the comparison draws strength from more than 19 years of record at the same gauge.
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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