Geist Reservoir at Indianapolis, in Water Level
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Geist Reservoir at Indianapolis, in in IN, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IN, United States
- Watershed upper white 0201
- Primary gauge 03351700 (USGS)
About Geist Reservoir at Indianapolis, in
What the record shows
Geist Reservoir sits in the Upper White watershed, Indiana.
The record here covers more than 6 years, so the pattern is still short, but it already shows a wide spread. The high mark is 11.94 ft (3.64 m) in April 2025, and the low mark is 8.25 ft (2.52 m) in October 2020. For anyone watching docks, seawalls, or a pump intake, that gap is the range the water has already proved it can move through.
Seasonally, the highest month is March at 10.09 ft (3.08 m), while the lowest month is September at 9.4 ft (2.87 m). That typical annual swing is 8.2 in (20.9 cm). In plain terms, the reservoir tends to sit higher in late winter and early spring, then ease lower by late summer and early fall. On this kind of water, that is the difference between a landing that feels normal and one that starts to feel tight.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is nothing to use for short-notice warning time from the record.
The watershed
The station’s drainage area above this point is 219 sq mi (567 km2), which is the land feeding this gauge, not the whole watershed on a map. That upstream area is what matters when rain falls hard or snowmelt and rain combine in the cold season. Midwestern hydrology often brings winter-spring floods on saturated or frozen ground, summer convective storms, and lower flows in fall. On a reservoir, that means conditions can change fastest when runoff is coming in from the surrounding basin rather than from the basin as a whole.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading, set against the median for the same calendar day in the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a level that looks ordinary on one date can be unusual on another. The daily median shows whether the reservoir is running above or below its usual seasonal position right now.
This station is published by the USGS, and the record spans about 6 years.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
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Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
