WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Elm Creek Channel near Elm Creek in MB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Elm Creek Channel near Elm Creek is a river in the La Salle watershed in Manitoba.
The station drains 589 km2 (227 sq mi) upstream of the gauge, so the numbers here describe what this reach is carrying past one point, not the whole watershed. For cottagers, farmers, and anyone watching the channel for high water, that upstream area is the part that matters.
The record high is 104.42 m (342.57 ft), set in April 2011. The record low is 99.09 m (325.11 ft), set in September 2018. That gap is real range on this water, and it is large enough to matter for bank access, pumps, and any structure that sits close to the edge.
The seasonal pattern is clear but not extreme. February is the highest typical month at 100.65 m (330.21 ft), while September is the lowest typical month at 99.52 m (326.52 ft). The typical annual swing is 1.12 m (3.7 ft). For someone fishing from shore or setting a dock, that is the span to expect between the higher winter level and the late-summer low.
The regional pattern fits prairie hydrology: spring snowmelt floods are the defining event, with summer recession after that. On this station, the monthly pattern still shows the winter side of the cycle in the typical levels.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than a raw elevation because it puts today beside what is normal for the same date, not beside a single number with no season attached.
With 65 years on record, that comparison is grounded in a long local history. If today is above the calendar-day median, the channel is running higher than usual for this date; if it is below, it is lower than usual. That is the better test for deciding whether conditions are staying within the usual seasonal range or pushing outside it.
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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