WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for East Branch Croton River near Putnam Lake NY in NY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The East Branch Croton River near Putnam Lake NY is in the Lower Hudson watershed of New York.
March is the usual high-water month here, with a typical level of 5.13 ft (1.56 m). September is the usual low-water month, with a typical level of 2.68 ft (0.82 m). The typical annual swing is 29.4 in (74.7 cm), so the range a dock, intake, or low crossing has to handle is not small.
For this gauge, that seasonal pattern is the main frame for everyday use: higher water in late winter and early spring, then a summer recession, then a lower late-summer level.
The station drains 62.1 sq mi (161 km2) upstream of the gauge.
The record high is 10.97 ft (3.34 m), set in March 2011. The record low is 1.86 ft (0.57 m), set in September 2022.
Those two readings show the spread this site can move through. When the river pushes toward the high end, water backs up into low banks, culverts, and launch spots faster than the seasonal numbers alone suggest. When it falls toward the low end, shallow access becomes the issue instead.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts for this station, so there is nothing specific to quote on warning time.
The number at the top of the page is today’s reading, set against the median for this calendar day from the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same stage can mean different things in March and September.
This gauge is monitored by the USGS, and it has more than 31 years of record behind it. Use the hero number as a quick check on where today sits within that local history: above the median means higher than usual for this date, below it means lower than usual.
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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