Cottonwood R at Marion Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cottonwood R at Marion in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location KS, United States
- Watershed upper cottonwood
- Primary gauge 07180200 (USGS)
About Cottonwood R at Marion
Cottonwood R at Marion is a gauged river in the Upper Cottonwood watershed in Kansas.
The watershed
This station drains 502 sq mi (1,300 km2) above the gauge. With 42 years on record, it gives a long view of how this reach behaves in wet spells and dry ones.
For people living near the river, the main pattern is not a steady rise and fall. The highest typical month is June at 5.24 ft (1.6 m), while the lowest typical month is September at 4.91 ft (1.5 m). That seasonal difference is modest at the monthly scale, with a typical annual swing of 3.9 in (9.8 cm). On the ground, that means ordinary seasonal change is small, but storm-driven jumps can still matter a lot more than the calendar pattern suggests.
What the numbers say
The record high is 27.74 ft (8.46 m) in July 2019. The record low is 4.07 ft (1.24 m) in August 2023. Those two ends of the range matter for docks, low-water access, and any intake or crossing that depends on a fairly narrow band of stage.
The record shows a river that can sit near its usual summer range and still move sharply when conditions change. In plains country, spring and summer storms are the season to watch, because the rise can be quick even when the longer recession is slow to clear.
Reading the hero number
The number on the page is today’s reading, set beside the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation on its own because it tells you whether the river is running high or low for this date, not just how high the water stands.
This gauge is operated by the USGS. With more than 42 years of record, the day-by-day median gives a better handle on what is normal here than a single level by itself.
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.
Water Stories
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
