WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Hills CR AB Hills CR Reservoir, near Oakridge in OR, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Hills CR AB Hills CR Reservoir, near Oakridge is a gauged river in the Middle Fork Willamette watershed, Oregon.
The annual range here is modest but real: the typical swing is 16.3 in (41.3 cm). In practice, that means docks, bank access, and any intake set close to the waterline see change, but not on the scale of a steep mountain stream.
The highest typical month is April at 10.75 ft (3.28 m). That fits the Pacific Northwest pattern on this side of the Cascades, where spring can still carry the wetter part of the year. The lowest typical month is September at 9.39 ft (2.86 m), so late-summer use has to account for the lower end of the seasonal cycle.
Over 50 years on record, this reach has ranged from a record high of 14.18 ft (4.32 m) in April 2019 to a record low of 9.18 ft (2.8 m) in October 2015. Those are useful bookends for anyone checking how far this water can move from its usual band.
The record high is well above the typical April level, which is a reminder that a single wet month can push the river outside its normal spring pattern. The record low sits below the typical September level, so late-season water use should be planned with that lower mark in mind.
The number shown at the top of this page is most useful when it is compared with the median for the same calendar day across the USGS record. That gives you context for whether today is sitting near the middle of the station’s usual range, or standing well above or below it.
Raw elevation alone is harder to use, because this river’s level only tells part of the story. Against a 50-year record, the calendar-day median shows whether today fits the normal seasonal pattern for this reach, which is what matters when you are watching for access, drift, or intake conditions.
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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