Cocopah Diversion from West Main Canal near Somerton Water Level

Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cocopah Diversion from West Main Canal near Somerton in AZ, United States, built from official government gauge data.

About Cocopah Diversion from West Main Canal near Somerton

What the record shows

The Cocopah Diversion from West Main Canal near Somerton is in the Lower Colorado watershed, Arizona.

The record spans 20 years. The highest level in that record was 3.31 ft (1.01 m) in May 2011. The lowest was 0.28 ft (0.09 m) in December 2011. For people watching a headgate, intake, or bankfull condition, that range shows how far the diversion can move within the local record.

The seasonal pattern is tight. December is the highest typical month at 1.1 ft (0.33 m), and January is the lowest typical month at 1.01 ft (0.31 m). The typical annual swing is 1 in (2.6 cm). That is a small spread on paper, but it still matters if you are checking depth for operation or field access.

No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts, so I cannot say how quickly this water can climb.

The watershed

This is an arid Southwest waterway, so the season matters more than the calendar alone. Summer storm periods can bring sudden changes, while winter conditions and high-country snowmelt support the larger river system feeding this region. Many channels run dry between events.

For this diversion, that wider pattern means the record is best read as a narrow operating range rather than a broad seasonal flood signal. Even small shifts can matter when water is being taken off a canal or passed through a structure. The monthly difference here is slight, but it is still the kind of change that can affect freeboard, gate settings, and field checks.

Reading the hero number

The hero number on this page is today's reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the water is sitting above or below its usual level for this date.

This station is operated by the USGS. With 20 years on record, the comparison is grounded in the station’s own history, not a regional average.

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.

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Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for 17,900+ lakes and rivers

Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.

Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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.

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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.

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