Kootenai River below Libby Dam near Libby MT Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Kootenai River below Libby Dam near Libby MT in MT, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MT, United States
- Watershed middle kootenai
- Primary gauge 12301933 (USGS)
About Kootenai River below Libby Dam near Libby MT
The Kootenai River below Libby Dam near Libby sits in the Middle Kootenai watershed in Montana.
What the record shows
The highest level in the record is 27.51 ft (8.39 m) in July 2012, and the lowest is 17.48 ft (5.33 m) in April 2009. Those two marks set the outer range for this station over 50 years of record.
The seasonal pattern is modest but steady. The highest typical month is December at 22.7 ft (6.92 m), and the lowest typical month is October at 17.84 ft (5.44 m). The typical annual swing is 4.9 ft (1.48 m). For anyone with a dock, intake, or bank access, that means the river commonly moves through a range that is large enough to matter, but not so large that the record extremes are the normal condition.
The watershed
This station drains 8999 sq mi (23307 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the full watershed name on a map.
The regional rhythm here is the one to watch: mountain snowmelt usually drives May-June peaks, prairie streams can rise with spring melt and summer storms, and winter low flows are common under ice. The monthly pattern at this station does not follow a simple spring-rise curve; the record shows a higher typical level in December than in October, so local users should watch the station rather than assume the season from the calendar.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is most useful when compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison tells you whether the river is running higher or lower than is normal for today, which is better than raw elevation alone.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 50 years.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
