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 Trenton NJ in NJ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Delaware River at Trenton NJ is in the Middle Delaware-Musconetcong watershed in NJ.
The record at this station spans more than 50 years, so the day-to-day range is worth reading as a long track rather than a single snapshot.
The highest level on record was 21.92 ft (6.68 m) in September 2011. The lowest was 7.86 ft (2.4 m) in August 2022. For people using the river, that spread is the range the channel and shoreline setup have had to absorb here.
Seasonally, the typical high point comes in March at 10.54 ft (3.21 m), while the typical low point comes in September at 8.48 ft (2.59 m). The typical annual swing is 24.6 in (62.6 cm). For docks, intakes, and boat access, that is the usual change to plan around, even before a wet spell pushes the river outside its normal band.
This gauge drains 6780 sq mi (17560 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding the reading at Trenton, not the watershed name on the page as a whole.
In this part of the Mid-Atlantic, winter and spring rain floods are part of the annual pattern, while tropical systems and their remnants are the events that can push levels much higher than the seasonal range suggests. Summer low flows are also part of the rhythm here, which is why late-season readings deserve attention for intake depth and launch access.
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 in isolation. That comparison tells you whether the river is running high or low for this date, which is more useful than a single level without context.
This station is a USGS site, and the record covers more than 50 years.
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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