WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Downey Creek at Mouth near Darrington in WA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Downey Creek at Mouth near Darrington is a gauged river in the Sauk watershed in Washington.
This station has more than 10 years of record. The highest level in the file is 99.83 ft (30.43 m) in December 2025, and the lowest is 95.71 ft (29.17 m) in October 2025. That range matters on the ground: docks, pumps, and any low intake need to handle a river that has already moved through that spread.
The typical annual swing is 11.5 in (29.2 cm). For a small creek mouth, that is enough to change how the channel sits against a bank, how much edge water is available, and how often a user has to adjust a setup through the year.
Seasonally, the highest month is June at 96.95 ft (29.55 m), while the lowest month is September at 95.99 ft (29.26 m). That fits a mountain-river pattern in this part of Washington: higher water in early summer, then a lower late-summer spell.
Downey Creek is part of the Sauk watershed. The seasonal pattern here is the main clue for anyone watching the reach. June is the high month, and September is the low month, so the creek is most likely to ask for extra margin in early summer and the most caution around shallow access late in the season.
The record itself also shows a sharp high in December 2025 and a low in October 2025. Those dates show that the creek can move outside the typical seasonal pattern, so a fixed bank mark or pump setting is not enough by itself.
The station is run by the USGS. The hero number on the page is best read against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not as a raw elevation. A stage value on its own tells you where the water sits; the calendar-day median tells you whether today is running near normal for this date at Downey Creek.
With more than 10 years on record, that comparison is the useful one for a cottager, angler, or landowner. It shows whether today’s level is close to the usual range for this day, which is the better guide for access, shoreline use, and short-term changes than a single height number by itself.
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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