WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Coppermine River above Copper Creek in NU, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
The Coppermine River above Copper Creek in Nunavut sits in the Lower Coppermine - Mouth watershed.
The station record runs for more than 37 years, and the spread is wide enough to matter for anyone watching a shoreline, crossing, or intake. The highest level on record is 22.78 m (74.73 ft) in May 2014. The lowest level on record is 16.78 m (55.05 ft) in August 2023.
Seasonally, the river is usually highest in June at 18.73 m (61.43 ft), and lowest in October at 17.55 m (57.57 ft). That typical swing is 1.18 m (3.9 ft), which is enough to change how much clearance a dock, bank access, or pump setup has to work with from one part of the year to another.
In Arctic hydrology, one intense snowmelt freshet in June-July carries most of the annual flow, while the river runs at low or no flow under ice for much of the year. The record here fits that seasonal rhythm, with the high water period coming in early summer and the lower water period arriving later in the open-water season.
The catchment above this station is 47,390 km2 (18,297 sq mi). That is the area draining to the gauge, not the full watershed downstream.
For people living near the river, that upstream area matters because it sets the scale of what can reach the channel during melt and summer rain. A large catchment can keep conditions changing after weather has already shifted farther away from the station.
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 river is running higher or lower than it usually does for this date.
With more than 37 years on record, the median gives a better local reference than a single measurement on its own. It helps anglers judge access, and it gives cottagers and flood-watchers a quick read on whether today sits near the middle of the site’s normal range or closer to the edges.
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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