Iowa River below Coralville Dam near Coralville Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Iowa River below Coralville Dam near Coralville in IA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IA, United States
- Watershed middle iowa
- Primary gauge 05453520 (USGS)
About Iowa River below Coralville Dam near Coralville
The Iowa River below Coralville Dam near Coralville is in the Middle Iowa watershed in Iowa.
What the record shows
The station record runs for 34 years, so the range here is long enough to show both flood years and low-water years.
The highest level in the record was 67.95 ft (20.71 m) in June 2008. The lowest was 48.84 ft (14.89 m) in December 2023. That gap matters for anyone watching a dock, intake, or bank line: the river can sit much lower than its flood peaks, but it can also move back toward those peaks during a wet year.
Seasonally, the typical high point comes in June at 52.22 ft (15.92 m), and the typical low point comes in September at 49.49 ft (15.09 m). The typical annual swing is 32.7 in (83 cm). For day-to-day use, that is the range a shoreline setup has to absorb through the year.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not given in the record here, so I cannot say how much warning this river has given at its quickest climb.
The watershed
This gauge drains 3,115 sq mi (8,068 km2) upstream of the station.
That upstream area is what feeds this reading, not the broader Middle Iowa watershed as a whole. In prairie-midwest conditions, the seasonal pattern often means spring snowmelt and rain on frozen or saturated ground can build high water, while summer storms can still push short rises through flat country.
For people on this reach, the practical question is not only where the river stands today, but how fast the upstream basin can send water down to this point.
Reading the hero number
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 raw elevation because 52.22 ft (15.92 m) means something different in June than it does in September.
This station is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the record spans more than 34 years. The median-for-today comparison helps show whether the river is running typical for the date, or sitting above or below what this reach usually sees on the same day of the year.
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.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
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
