Coosa River at Gadsden Steam Plant near Gadsden Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Coosa River at Gadsden Steam Plant near Gadsden in AL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AL, United States
- Watershed middle coosa
- Primary gauge 02400496 (USGS)
About Coosa River at Gadsden Steam Plant near Gadsden
Coosa River in the Middle Coosa watershed, Alabama.
What the record shows
The station record runs more than 40 years, and the extremes sit far apart. The highest level on record is 29.18 ft (8.89 m) in February 1990. The lowest is 14.45 ft (4.4 m) in February 1997.
For someone keeping an eye on a dock, bank, or intake, that gap matters. It tells you this reach can move across a wide range over the years, so a single day’s reading is less useful than the station’s history.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight by comparison. The typical high month is May at 21.79 ft (6.64 m), and the typical low month is December at 20.67 ft (6.3 m). The typical annual swing is 13.5 in (34.4 cm). That is the regular change to plan around when setting fixed gear or watching shoreline exposure.
The watershed
This station drains 5800 sq mi (15022 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole named watershed on a map.
The USGS site here is a river station, so the number reflects what is passing this point in the Middle Coosa basin. For nearby landowners, that upstream area is the part that can add water to the channel before it reaches the gauge.
In a rain-driven Gulf South setting, winter and spring rains usually set the annual peaks. Summer and fall can also jump fast when tropical systems pass through, while long warm-season lows often hold between storms. Those are the rhythms to watch on this river.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not as a raw elevation by itself. That comparison shows whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date.
That matters more than a single height because the same number can mean different things at different times of year. A daily median places today’s reading in the station’s own history.
This site is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 40 years.
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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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