WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Indian C near Douglas City CA in CA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Indian C near Douglas City CA is a river in California.
The record on this station runs back 22 years, and the water has enough range that a dock or intake has to be set with that spread in mind.
The high-water mark is 4.11 ft (1.25 m), set in February 2019. The low-water mark is 0.35 ft (0.11 m), set in September 2022. Those two points bracket a narrow-looking channel on the page, but they show how far this river can move through the year.
The usual seasonal shape is clear. March is the highest month, at 1.56 ft (0.48 m), while August is the lowest month, at 0.68 ft (0.21 m). The typical annual swing is 10.6 in (26.8 cm). For people using the river, that means spring conditions can sit well above late-summer levels, and a fixed setup needs to tolerate that change.
The station drains 33.5 sq mi (86.8 km2) above the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole named river system.
For a reach like this, the season matters more than a single snapshot. Spring is when the river is usually higher here, and late summer is when it is usually lower. That is the pattern to keep in mind if you are watching for access, shallow spots, or changes in shoreline exposure.
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw height by itself. A water level can look high or low in isolation and still be close to normal for that date.
That comparison is what the USGS station record gives you here: the present reading set against the day-by-day middle of 22 years on record. For neighbours, anglers, and anyone checking an intake or landing, that is the more useful question: is today unusual for this date, or is it part of the normal seasonal range?
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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