WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Durkadale Burn at Durkadale in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Durkadale Burn at Durkadale is a gauged river in SC.
The station has 27 years on record, enough to show a modest but useful range for a small catchment. The record high is 1.28 m (4.21 ft), set in October 2006, and the record low is 0.07 m (0.24 ft), set in July 2002. For anyone watching a crossing, intake, or bank edge, that is the spread this reach has already shown.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward. November is the highest month on average at 0.4 m (1.3 ft), while July is the lowest at 0.13 m (0.41 ft). The typical annual swing is 27 cm (10.6 in), which means the burn does not sit at one level for long. In a rain-driven coastal-plain and piedmont setting, that kind of rhythm matters most in winter and spring, when rain usually keeps water moving, and again in the warm season, when low water can linger.
The catchment above this station is 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi). That is the area feeding the gauge, so changes there are the changes this site sees first.
For people living beside the burn, the key point is how quickly a small catchment can respond to rain. A wet spell can lift the level well above the July norm, while a dry stretch can leave it close to the low end of the station record. The record high in October 2006 also shows that late-season rain can push the reach well past its usual November-to-July pattern.
The number at the top compares today’s level with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the burn is running high or low for the season, not just how high the water sits in absolute terms.
For SEPA, that day-by-day comparison is the practical one for cottagers, anglers, and anyone checking whether conditions are changing toward the record side or settling back toward the middle of the station history.
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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