WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Delaware River at Riegelsville NJ in NJ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Delaware River at Riegelsville sits in the Middle Delaware-Musconetcong watershed in New Jersey.
This station drains 6,328 sq mi (16,389 km2) upstream of the gauge, so the reading reflects a large stretch of river upstream of Riegelsville rather than the watershed as a whole.
For people using the river, the seasonal pattern matters as much as the day-to-day level. The highest typical month is April at 6.26 ft (1.91 m), and the lowest typical month is September at 3.43 ft (1.05 m). That annual swing is 33.9 in (86.2 cm), which is enough to change how far a dock sits from the water and how shallow the edges feel to an angler.
The record high is 26.82 ft (8.18 m), set in September 2011. The record low is 2.48 ft (0.76 m), set in December 2025. Those two points show the range this river can cover at this station, from low-water conditions that tighten access to high-water periods that demand more clearance and more attention at crossings, banks, and low structures.
The 19 years on record give the seasonal numbers some weight, but not enough to smooth away the extremes. In this part of the Mid-Atlantic, winter-spring rain floods are part of the pattern, and tropical systems and their remnants can bring the biggest events.
The hero number on the page is best read as today’s level against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not as a raw elevation by itself. That comparison answers a better local question: is the river running high, low, or near its usual level for this date?
USGS is the operating agency here, and the comparison is built from about 19 years of record. For cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers, that context is more useful than the absolute number alone because it shows whether the river is behaving normally for the season or sitting well above or below its usual range.
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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