WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Keya Paha River near Keyapaha in SD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Keya Paha River near Keyapaha sits in the Keya Paha watershed, South Dakota.
Across this station’s record, the seasonal high is in January at 5.36 ft (1.63 m), and the seasonal low is in August at 4.34 ft (1.32 m). That spread is 12.2 in (30.9 cm) over a typical year. For someone watching a dock, a pump, or a crossing, that means the river’s usual range is not large, but it does move through the year.
The regional pattern here is the one to expect on the plains: spring snowmelt is often the main push, summer can bring short storm-driven bumps, and the late-season recession can stretch out. The seasonal numbers at this station show that the river is usually higher in winter than in late summer.
The highest level in the record is 10.84 ft (3.3 m) in March 2019. The lowest level in the record is 4.02 ft (1.23 m) in September 2022. Those two points bracket the range this station has shown over 45 years.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts, so there is nothing to add on warning time. For local use, the record high is the level to remember for bank reach and access, while the record low is the level that matters for shallow intakes and fishable depth.
The gauge area above this station is 535 sq mi (1,386 km2). That is the upstream drainage feeding this site, not the full watershed name on the map.
The number shown at the top of the page is most useful when it is set against the median for the same calendar day, because that tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date. Raw elevation alone does not do that.
This station is published by the USGS, and it has more than 45 years on record.
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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