WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cooper R at Filbin Creek at North Charleston in SC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Cooper R at Filbin Creek at North Charleston is a gauged river in the Cooper watershed, South Carolina.
This station sits in the Cooper watershed, so the useful question is not just how high the water is, but how it is moving through the year. In this part of the coastal plain and piedmont, winter and spring rain usually set the tone, and tropical systems in hurricane season can reset the record book fast.
For people along the river, that means the level can stay modest for long warm stretches, then jump when a big rain arrives. The monthly pattern here is not flat: September is the highest month, with a typical level of 11.13 ft (3.39 m), while January is the lowest month, with a typical level of 10.18 ft (3.1 m). That annual swing is 11.3 in (28.8 cm), which is the kind of range docks, ramps, and low intakes have to live with.
The record high at this station is 13.95 ft (4.25 m) in September 2019. The record low is 7.66 ft (2.34 m) in November 2019. Those two readings show that this river can move outside its usual band in the same broad season, so a single day’s number is only part of the story.
The station has 29 years on record. That is enough history to put today’s reading beside a real calendar-day baseline, not just a standing water level. For someone fishing or checking a dock, that matters more than raw elevation because the same stage can mean something different in late winter than it does in late summer.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is the better guide because it tells you whether the river is running typical for this date, not just whether the water is above or below sea level.
This station is published by the U.S. Geological Survey. With more than 29 years of record, its day-by-day median gives a solid reference point for local decisions: when to expect ordinary access, when to watch the bank, and when a rise is more than a routine change.
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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