WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Isla (Tayside) at Balbrogie in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Isla (Tayside) at Balbrogie is a gauged river in Scotland.
This station has more than 32 years on record, so its extremes matter more than a single day’s reading.
The record high is 4.55 m (14.91 ft), reached in January 2016. For anyone with a bridge crossing, bank access, or a low-lying intake nearby, that is the upper end of what this reach has shown.
The record low is 0 m (0 ft), reached in April 1995. That tells you the gauge has also seen very low water, so late-season supply and access can tighten quickly.
The seasonal pattern is modest compared with the extremes, but it still matters. January is the highest typical month at 0.93 m (3.06 ft), while July is the lowest typical month at 0.47 m (1.54 ft). The typical annual swing is 46.4 cm (18.3 in), which is the sort of change that can shift a dock, shallow crossing, or pump setup from comfortable to awkward over the year.
The drainage area above this station is 678 km2 (262 sq mi).
That upstream area is what feeds the gauge, so rain over that catchment is what moves the level here. In a rain-driven system like this one, winter and spring rain usually set the higher water season, and long warm-season low-flow stretches can show up in summer. That lines up with January as the usual high month and July as the low month.
For people using the river, the catchment size is a useful reminder that this is not a tiny local run-off response. Water arriving upstream can take time to work through the reach, but the level here still reflects what falls across that 678 km2 (262 sq mi) above the station.
The number on the page is most useful when you set it beside the typical level for this calendar day, not beside raw elevation alone.
SEPA is the agency behind this station, and its record here gives a day-by-day context built from more than 32 years of observations. That makes the comparison practical: a reading above the calendar-day median means the river is running higher than it usually does at this point in the year; a reading below it means the opposite. For cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching access or intake conditions, that is the better guide.
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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