WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Darby Creek near Darby in PA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Darby Creek in the Lower Delaware watershed, Pennsylvania.
The seasonal pattern here is straightforward: April is the typical high-water month at 2.14 ft (0.65 m), while September is the typical low-water month at 1.85 ft (0.56 m). The typical annual swing is 3.4 in (8.6 cm), so a dock, crossing, or intake on this creek has to live with a modest but real change through the year.
For people watching the creek, that means spring is the time to pay closest attention and late summer is the time to expect the lower end of the range. That fits the broader Appalachian and piedmont pattern of winter-spring rain and melt setting the annual peaks, with summer low flows.
The record high is 7.11 ft (2.17 m), set in August 2020. The record low is 1.61 ft (0.49 m), set in January 2025. Those two marks show that this creek can move well beyond its typical seasonal band.
The station’s fastest 24-hour rise is not available in the facts, so I will not guess at warning time. That matters, because a sharp rise is often the first number a shoreline owner or angler needs when deciding whether the water is about to change quickly.
This page’s hero number is the current reading compared with the median for this calendar day at the USGS station, not just the raw elevation. That comparison is the better guide for day-to-day use: it tells you whether today is running above, below, or near what this creek usually does at this point in the year.
This station has more than 50 years on record, so the median is built from a long local history, not a short run of recent weather. On a creek like Darby Creek, that context is what helps a cottager, farmer, or angler judge whether today is ordinary for the date or something worth watching closely.
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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