WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Kilini Creek at Twp Road NO 543 in AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Kilini Creek in the Sturgeon (Alta.) watershed, Alberta.
The creek’s typical low point comes in May at 9.42 m (30.9 ft), and its typical high point comes in October at 9.6 m (31.5 ft). The typical annual swing is 18.2 cm (7.2 in), so the seasonal range is modest on paper but still enough to matter at a dock, pump, or intake.
That pattern does not match the broader foothills-and-prairie note every year. This station’s record says what happened here: not a spring peak, but a later high month. For anyone watching access or bank edges, the useful takeaway is to expect the water to move within a fairly tight band most years, then watch for the sharper departures that can come with storms.
The record high is 10.26 m (33.67 ft) in April 2018. The record low is 8.49 m (27.86 ft) in September 2013. Those two marks show the range this station has actually seen over more than 12 years of record.
The fastest 24-hour rise is 45.7 cm (18 in) in April 2014. That is the kind of change that gives short warning time on this creek. If you have shoreline infrastructure, the daily change matters as much as the absolute level, because a fast rise can turn a manageable bank into a problem before the next day’s check.
The fastest 24-hour drop is 70.9 cm (27.9 in) in August 2024. Drops like that can leave shallow spots exposed and change where fish hold near the banks.
The number at the top of the page should be read against the median for that calendar day, not as a stand-alone elevation. A single level only tells you where the water sits right now; the calendar-day median tells you whether today is high or low for this station’s usual seasonal pattern.
For this site, the reference set comes from Water Survey of Canada records, and the station has more than 12 years on record. That makes the hero number a quick way to compare today with the creek’s own history at station 05EA013, which is the comparison that matters for cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching flow near the road crossing.
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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